RAMP was an online website accessible over the Tor network that enabled users to buy or advertise all kinds of illegal products. The site founded circa 2012 and accessible only in Russian had a credit for being the go-to place for purchasing drugs that could be given within Russia’s territory.
The platform didn’t seem like a regular marketplace, but further like a forum, with certified vendors having their own forum section where they could sell products.
News published the website going down in early July, just about the same period US authorities had brought down AlphaBay, and Europol and Dutch police stated they had taken down Hansa Market, two other Dark Web marketplaces also worked for selling drugs, weapons, and other illegal products.
At the time, many users thought the website was producing hosting issues and might have been under a DDoS attack. About a week later, on July 21, News noticed a new website appear on the Dark Web, describing itself RAMP 2.0, pretending to be a new version of the older portal. The site highlighted an almost identical interface.
The website continued active for a few more weeks but ultimately went down as well. Currently, the Dark Web is riddled with fake RAMP websites that try to scam users into paying unusual sort of access tax before being allowed on the supposed site.
In the weeks following RAMP’s closure, this journalist also noticed a surge in private shops selling drugs to Russian-speaking users. RAMP’s sudden closure most fits drove the rise in new Russian shops for illegal products on the Dark Web.
In addition, a new service named RuTor was heavily advertised as a RAMP alternative, using ads on under hacking forums, XMPP spam, and ads on other Dark Web portals. At the time of writing, RuTor is still up and working.
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