BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — This week, members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) raided a home on Buffalo’s west side as part of an operation against Genesis Market.

First conceived in 2018, The United States Department of Justice says Genesis Market has served as “a criminal online marketplace that advertised and sold packages of account access credentials.” These credentials, which they say were stolen from malware-infected computers around the world, include usernames and passwords for email, bank and social media accounts.

“Yesterday, the Department of Justice and its partners dismantled the Genesis Market and arrested many of its users around the world,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco.

A recent raid on W. Ferry Street in Buffalo was linked to this. Buffalo’s F.B.I. office was one of 45 field offices involved in the operation.

“The crime has gotten more sophisticated, the technology has advanced and the criminals have gotten a lot smarter and that’s always been one of the challenges for law enforcement,” said Bernie Tolbert, a former special agent in charge for the FBI’s Buffalo Office, “For the general public you have to pay attention, be mindful of what your business looks like, what it should look like, whether it’s a checking account or anything else.”