Canadian authorities shut down a “dark web” marketplace that specialized in the sale of spamming services, phishing kits and access to compromised computers, and assessed $300,000 in penalties to four involved participants.

However, the four-lettered acronym behind the investigation is the CRTC, not the RCMP.

The nature of the violation is why the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) – the same authority that grants radio licenses, assigns wireless bandwidth and otherwise regulates and supervises broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada – is also able to take on and take down dark web sites.

The site in this case is CanadianHeadQuarters (also known as CanadianHQ). That site made available the logos of well-known Canadian companies and a variety of other materials to help those with access “to engage in a variety of malicious activities” according to the news release announcing the shutdown.

The actual violations announced were not related to defrauding consumers, but rather to Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (CASL). The CRTC enforces compliance with some sections of the CASL related to spam and installing programs on another person’s computer without their consent.

So while the four named individuals were allegedly sending emails “mimicking well-known brands in order to obtain personal data including credit card numbers, banking credentials and other sensitive information,” they were not charged with fraud or criminality. Instead, they were charged with sending commercial electronic messages without consent, in violation of CASL.

The $300,000 to be paid are “Notices of Violation” and not “fines” and the alleged violators (not “accused”) have 30 days to pay the penalty or challenge the notices and penalties before the CRTC.

The CRTC notice makes no mention of any potential criminal enforcement. It does note the effort against CanadianHQ included RCMP involvement, along with Quebec authorities and cyber-security firm Flare Systems.

The release also states the CRTC “issued warrants in Montreal in 2020 and 2021 to help investigate four individuals” and that “as part of this investigation, a number of other internet vendors have been identified and enforcement actions will be taken against them in the near future.”

In the release, CRTC Chief Compliance and Enforcement Officer Steven Harroun said: “This case shows that anonymity is not absolute online and there are real-world consequences when engaging in these activities.”

The release noted CanadianHQ was one of the largest “dark web” marketplaces in the world and significantly contributed to cybercrime in Canada. Dark Webs are portions of the internet not able to be indexed by search engines, and requiring specific software or networks to gain access, and provide encryption for anonymity and privacy. Dark web marketplaces use that anonymity to facilitate the purchase and sale of illicit goods and services.