FBI seizes Virtualine bulletproof hosting domain
Original title: FBI seizes ‘bulletproof’ hosting site accused of facilitating child abuse, money laundering
A court authorized seizure of virtualine.net; prosecutors allege it kept serving a forum after child-abuse complaints and have not charged operators.
The Justice Department said a court authorized the FBI to seize virtualine.net, a bulletproof host also known as Secury, Massgod, Spamhouse, Lanedo and Omegatech. Prosecutors say it advertised hosting for illegal activity, including phishing, carding and spam, and did not enforce stated bans on terrorism or child sexual abuse material. After complaints in January, including from Germany, Canada, Australia and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Virtualine allegedly helped the forum’s operators build another site. The FBI’s Washington Field Office led the case with partners in Germany, the Netherlands and Britain. No operators were named and no charges were announced.
Unconfirmed: The Justice Department has not identified Virtualine’s operators or announced criminal charges.
- Virtualine accepted bitcoin through a service it called “BTC [NO-AML].”
- Prosecutors say some payments were still traceable to criminal groups.
- In June 2025 it boasted on HackForums about ignoring abuse complaints.
- Private-sector partners included OverRIPE and Lumen.
Impact: Criminal hosting allegedly used for phishing, carding, spam and abuse material
- Products
- Virtualine
From the original article
2 min read at therecord.mediaThe FBI seized the domain of a “bulletproof” hosting provider accused of facilitating a range of cybercrimes, including money laundering and the distribution of child sexual abuse material.
therecord.media
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