Investigating Dark Web Kill Lists: A Researcher's Journey

Uncovering the Darknet's Kill Orders

• 🔍 Carl Miller, a dark web researcher, spent years investigating people attempting to hire assassins online.
• 🌐 He accessed a darknet website that appeared to offer direct transactions for murder, looking like a 1990s clip art site.
• 💻 A hacker named Chris Monteiro discovered a vulnerability, granting access to the website's backend, revealing real kill orders with names, addresses, and payment details.

The "Kill List" and Initial Investigations

• 📝 The intercepted orders, collectively termed the "Kill List," included targets in Amsterdam, Paris, Slovakia, Hyderabad, and Berlin, with prices ranging from $1,000 to $21,000.
• 🚨 Miller contacted the Metropolitan Police, but they were initially skeptical and did not pursue an active investigation.
• 💡 Recognizing the danger to the targeted individuals, Miller and his team decided to personally contact those on the list.

Reaching Out to Targets and Evolving Strategy

• 📞 Initial attempts to warn targets directly were met with disbelief and hang-ups, as the story seemed too fantastical.
• 📰 The strategy evolved to involve local journalists who could meet the targets face-to-face.
• 🗣️ In one instance, a woman named Elena in Zurich, who was in a bitter divorce, was not surprised to learn she was on the list, as her husband was involved in a financial dispute.

The Illusion of Hitmen and Real Danger

• 🎭 Analysis of the website's communications revealed that the supposed hitmen were incompetent and likely never intended to carry out the killings.
• 💰 The site's operators were primarily focused on extorting money from those placing the orders, rather than fulfilling them.
• ⚠️ However, the individuals placing the orders were often deadly serious, as demonstrated by the discovery of a cache of weapons and tools in Elena's husband's rented room, intended for her.

The Profile of Orderers and the Investigation's Impact

• 🎯 The people placing orders were often seemingly ordinary individuals, including a hospital administrator in a custody battle, a Microsoft technician plotting against adoptive children's biological parents, and a doctor obsessed with control.
• 🌍 The investigation, conducted in secret with the FBI, disclosed 175 paid-for kill orders globally.
• ⚖️ This led to 32 arrests, 28 convictions, and approximately 180 years of prison time.

The Broader Implications of Darknet Assassination Services

• 📉 The darknet website lowered the barrier to entry for ordering assassinations, making it seem convenient, clean, and easy.
• 👥 The individuals involved, both orderers and targets, are often normal people with jobs and lives, highlighting a disconcerting reality.
• 🧠 A common thread among those ordering hits was a desire for control, often stemming from intimate partner violence, and a willingness to kill to maintain it.
• ⚠️ Miller concludes that many people may be closer to being on a kill list than they realize.