John Wick: Australian gangs using an app to organise underworld hits

[Chase]

Aussie criminal gangs using an app to organise underworld hits​

https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/othe...n-app-to-organise-underworld-hits/ar-BB1o4yix

Criminal gangs are organising underworld hits including firebombings, murders and drive-bys via a secret underworld app similar to one used in the John Wick movies. The app, which went online in recent months, has been referred to as an Airtasker for criminals - with members advertising a 'job' which is then picked up by a contractor.

Designed by the underworld's equivalent of 'management', the app has a striking similarity to the one used in the popular Hollywood blockbuster John Wick starring Keanu Reeves. In John Wick, 'hits' are advertised digitally to a network of assassins and payment is made to the successful hitman.

The app's name remains a secret, with prospective app users needing a verification by an existing member before their access is granted.

New members are assigned a code name by the app's administrators which keeps their identity a secret and preserves the anonymity of the app and its users. The jobs - which include firebombings, robberies, murders, shootings, assaults, armed robberies, drive-bys, supply of weapons and getaway cars - are accepted by other senior players in charge of running gangs and crews.

Specific details of a target or timing is not shared until the job has been accepted by a contractor.

Once accepted, the criminal boss who posted the job and the contactor who accepted it move to a private encrypted chat platform where they discuss details and negotiate payment. App administrators are aware of the real identities of the members, however, they do not know details of the jobs posted due to the use of outside encrypted chats.

Members are permanently banned if they violate the app's terms of service, which include failure to pay a contractor or complete a job. The source added Australian law enforcement knew of the app but were unsuccessful in their attempts to infiltrate it's secure encryption.

The app's design also limited the data that could be used if law enforcement were able to obtain a working version of the app and a password - as a job disappears within one hour from when it is posted and members are protected by codenames.


The app also has an in-built self-destruct function that is activated if a code is not entered every 24 hours, the source told The Age.