Russian Cybercriminal Charged in Massive Freelancer Phishing Campaign
Between June 2016 and November 2017, Russian national Searzhudin Tamirlanovich Aktulaev conducted a large-scale phishing campaign targeting freelance workers through a California-based employment platform. Using 255 fake accounts, Aktulaev sent malicious Excel attachments to 80,000 freelancers, deploying TVRAT and DarkVNC malware to gain remote access to victim systems. The malware enabled theft of e-commerce credentials and personally identifiable information, with half of all victims located in the United States. Aktulaev was arrested in Cyprus in May 2025 and extradited to face federal charges. This case demonstrates the persistent threat of credential theft operations targeting gig economy workers and the growing sophistication of Russian cybercriminals exploiting legitimate platforms for large-scale data harvesting campaigns.
Kill Chain