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Denis Gennadievich Kulkov

$10M Reward


  • The Secret Service, in partnership with the U.S. Department of State, is offering a reward of up to $10,000,000 for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of this individual.

 

 
Denis Gennadievich Kulkov
Denis Gennadievich Kulkov

ALIASES: Денис Геннадьевич Кульков, “Try2Check,” “Kreenjo,” “Nordex,” “Nordexin”
DOB: April 8, 1980
NATIONALITY: Russia
CITIZENSHIP: Russia
HEIGHT: 5’7”
WEIGHT: 170 lbs
HAIR COLOR: Black/Balding
EYE COLOR: Brown
U.S. SECRET SERVICE FIELD OFFICE: New York

CASE SUMMARY

On May 3, 2023, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York unsealed a four-count indictment charging Denis Gennadievich Kulkov with access device fraud, computer intrusion, and money laundering in connection with his operation of Try2Check, the primary service offering “card-checking” to cybercriminals in the stolen credit card trade.

The Try2Check platform catered to cybercriminals who purchased and sold stolen credit card numbers in bulk on the Internet, offering criminals the ability to quickly determine what percentage of the cards were valid and active. As such, Try2Check was a primary enabler of the trade in stolen credit card information, processing at least tens of millions of card numbers every year.

As alleged in the indictment and other court filings, Kulkov created Try2Check in 2005, building it into a primary tool of the illicit credit card trade. Cybercriminals who acquired large batches of stolen credit cards (for example, by hacking into credit card readers at stores) ran the cards through Try2Check to determine what percentage of the stolen credit card numbers remained active. These cybercriminals then used the resulting data to show prospective buyers of the stolen credit cards what percentage of the cards retained their value. Try2Check victimized not only credit card issuers and holders, but also a major U.S.-based payment processing company whose systems Try2Check misused to perform the card checks.

Try2Check ran tens of millions of credit card checks per year. Over a nine-month period in 2018, the site performed at least 16 million checks, and over a 13-month period beginning in September 2021, the site performed at least 17 million checks. Through the illegal operation of his websites, the defendant made at least $18 million in Bitcoin (and an unknown amount through other payment systems), which he used to purchase a Ferrari, among other luxury items.

The prosecution is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. The U.S. Department of State is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Kulkov for participating in transnational organized crime.

Relevant Links

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

If you have information regarding this individual, please contact the U.S. Secret Service at MostWanted@usss.dhs.gov.