AlphaBay

AlphaBay was an online marketplace operating on the dark web, where users could buy and sell illicit goods such as drugs, stolen data, weapons, and hacking services. Accessible via special software called Tor to ensure anonymity, it functioned much like legitimate e-commerce sites but for illegal items. Law enforcement shut it down in 2017 after its founder was arrested, highlighting the risks associated with such hidden markets. While it provided a platform for criminal activities, it also demonstrated the challenges authorities face in combating illegal online marketplaces.