FBI, Europol seize LeakBase cybercrime forum with 142,000 members in multi-country operation

Law enforcement agencies led by the FBI and Europol shut down LeakBase, a cybercrime forum with over 142,000 registered members and more than 215,000 messages, on March 3 and March 4, international authorities said. The platform, used to trade stolen personal data, financial credentials, leaked databases, and hacking tools, was replaced with seizure banners as investigators in 14 countries executed search warrants and made arrests. Officials seized user accounts, private messages, credit details, and IP logs to support ongoing investigations and trace financial activity tied to the forum, while continuing cross-border efforts to identify additional suspects. The takedown follows recent data breaches affecting the cryptocurrency sector, including a May 2025 incident in which criminals allegedly bribed overseas contractors to access Coinbase internal systems, a breach of LockBit's dark web affiliate panel exposing nearly 60,000 Bitcoin addresses linked to a ransomware network, and a February 23 extortion attempt against trader TraderSZ reportedly tied to a former Revolut employee.