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SocksEscort proxy network disruption

March 2026, Criminal hosting and proxies
Led by Federal Bureau of Investigation

Extended pass entry, last reviewed August 21, 2026

What was taken down?

Several dozen domains seized.

See what happened

What happened to the people?

No individual outcomes are recorded against this entry.
Group accounted for: Not established

See people and accountability

Did it stay down?

Not established in the public record. No later activity is recorded against this entry.

See what happened afterward

A US DOJ-led international operation seized several dozen US-registered domains belonging to SocksEscort, a residential-proxy network exploiting home routers and facilitating fraud.

Date
March 2026
Target
SocksEscort, residential proxy botnet
Activity
Criminal hosting and proxies
Operational lead
FBI
Partners
Black Lotus Labs[1]
Jurisdiction
Not established
Outcome
Several dozen domains seized.
Status
Completed
Legal mechanism
Court-authorized international action; federal seizure warrants.
Group accounted for
Not established

No individual is named against this entry in the cited record. That is a gap in what has been published rather than a finding that nobody was involved.

Group accounted for: Not established

The cited record does not say how large the group was or whether everyone involved has been identified.

See the organizations and roles behind this action

Not established in the public record. No later activity is recorded against this entry.

Numbered markers throughout this entry link to the source that supports the claim beside them.

Official sources

  1. [1]
    SocksEscort residential proxy network disrupted

    US DOJ, March 1, 2026, Source grade P1

    Establishes the seizure of dozens of SocksEscort domains.

    No address recorded for this source. Publisher, title, and date are given so it can be retrieved from the publisher.

Coverage note. Added from deep-research aggregation pass. Not independently re-verified source-by-source to the same standard as the original 38-incident core; source_quality capped at S2/P2 pending a dedicated verification pass.