**Microsoft Shuts Down Cybercrime Site That May Have Tried to Scam You**

Microsoft has dealt a significant blow to the dark web by shutting down RedVDS, a platform that enabled hackers to launch phishing attacks and online scams against unsuspecting victims. The company, in partnership with European law enforcement agencies, has seized two domains hosting the RedVDS marketplace and customer portal, effectively bringing an end to its malicious operations.

RedVDS, which was available on the open web since at least 2017, offered a range of services for hackers, including access to virtual machines that ran Windows and other operating systems. For as little as $24 per month, customers could use the platform to send phishing emails, host online scams, and engage in other malicious activities.

The impact of RedVDS was staggering, with Microsoft reporting that over 2,600 distinct virtual machines sent an average of one million phishing messages per day to Microsoft customers alone. This translates to a massive scale of operations, with police in Germany estimating that the site had over 13,000 users worldwide.

But what's even more disturbing is the fact that RedVDS was also used by hackers to launch "business email compromise" schemes, which involve hijacking the email account of a company executive and tricking lower-level employees into transferring funds to the hacker. The platform was also used to compromise email accounts belonging to realtors, escrow agents, and title companies, enabling hackers to send strategically timed emails with fraudulent payment instructions.

The sectors most affected by RedVDS-enabled attacks include construction, manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, education, and legal services. In total, Microsoft says that since September 2025, RedVDS-enabled attacks have led to the compromise or fraudulent access of more than 191,000 organizations worldwide.

But what about the individuals behind RedVDS? Unfortunately, many hackers reside in Russia, which generally refuses to extradite hacking suspects to the US. However, Microsoft says that it has laid the groundwork to identify the users and creators of RedVDS, and law enforcement agencies are working to permanently shut down some of its cybercrime operations.

As part of the crackdown, police in Germany have seized nearly 70 servers associated with RedVDS. While this is a significant blow to the platform's operations, Microsoft warns that other cybercriminal platforms may emerge in its place. To combat this, the company says it will continue working to disrupt these new platforms and protect its customers from the ever-evolving threat of cybercrime.

In a statement, Microsoft said: "This operation is an important step in our ongoing efforts to disrupt the malicious activities of cybercriminals and protect the security and trust of our customers. We will continue to work closely with law enforcement agencies around the world to identify and take down these types of platforms."