Tor Carding Forum

{{short description|Online black market and discussion forum}}

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| type = Internet forum

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| language = English

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The Tor Carding Forum (TCF) was a Tor-based forum specializing in the trade of stolen credit card details, identity theft and currency counterfeiting. The site was founded by an individual known as 'Verto' who also founded the now defunct Evolution darknet market.{{cite news|last1=Wired Staff|title=The Most Dangerous People on the Internet Right Now|url=https://www.wired.com/2015/01/dangerous-people-internet-right-now/|accessdate=1 August 2015|date=1 January 2015}}

The site required $50 for registration.{{cite news|last1=Kiell|title=A Carder's First Experience|url=https://www.deepdotweb.com/2014/12/11/a-carders-first-experience/|accessdate=31 July 2015|date=11 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418111640/http://www.deepdotweb.com/2014/12/11/a-carders-first-experience/|archive-date=18 April 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|last1=Greenberg|first1=Andy|title=The Dark Web Gets Darker With Rise of the 'Evolution' Drug Market|url=https://www.wired.com/2014/09/dark-web-evolution/|accessdate=31 July 2015|date=18 September 2014}}

A 2013 investigation into counterfeit banknotes in Pittsburgh led to a source of Ugandan fakes being identified as having been purchased via the Tor Carding Forums.{{cite news|last1=Rohrlich|first1=Justin|title=The Counterfeiting Missionary and the Fake Pittsburgh Playboy|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-counterfeiting-missionary-and-the-fake-pittsburgh-playboy/|access-date=31 July 2015|date=27 January 2015}} By December 2014 Ryan Andrew Gustafson a.k.a. "Jack Farrel" and "Willy Clock", a US citizen living in Uganda was arrested for large scale sale of counterfeit United States currency by the U.S. Secret Service which was being sold through the Tor Carding Forums as well as other crime forums.{{cite news|last1=Krebs|first1=Brian|title=Alleged Counterfeiter "Willy Clock" Arrested|url=http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/12/alleged-counterfeiter-willy-clock-arrested/|accessdate=31 July 2015|date=December 2014}}

In December 2014 the site closed following a hack, directing users to Evolution's forums.{{cite news|last1=Farivar|first1=Cyrus|title=After Silk Road takedowns, Dark Web drug sites still thriving|url=https://arstechnica.com/business/2014/12/after-two-silk-road-takedowns-dark-web-drug-sites-still-thriving/|accessdate=1 August 2015|date=19 December 2014}}{{cite news|last1=DeepDotWeb|title=Evolution Marketplace Staff Speak: We are growing fast!|url=https://www.deepdotweb.com/2014/05/10/evolution-marketplace-staff-speak-we-are-growing-fast/|accessdate=16 August 2015|date=10 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151008053727/https://www.deepdotweb.com/2014/05/10/evolution-marketplace-staff-speak-we-are-growing-fast/|archive-date=8 October 2015|url-status=dead}}

In June 2015 a dark web researcher identified the clearnet IP address of a similar hidden service branded 'The Tor Carding Forum V2'{{cite news|last1=Cox|first1=Joseph|title=This Researcher Is Hunting Down IP Addresses of Dark Web Sites|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/this-researcher-is-hunting-down-ip-addresses-of-dark-web-sites/|access-date=31 July 2015|date=22 June 2015}} which was subsequently shut down.{{cite news|last1=Guthrie Weissman|first1=Cale|title=The dark web is growing but people have already figured out how to track down its most hidden websites|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/dark-web-researcher-discovers-ip-addresses-in-plain-sight-2015-6?r=US&IR=T|access-date=8 December 2015|date=23 June 2015}}