A fake hitman-for-hire website operated by Romanian scammers attracted desperate perpetrators as incompetent assassins.

The sight of smiling faces still makes Carl Miller feel nauseous whenever he recalls the assassination attempts.

"The U.K.-based tech journalist told Planet Chronicle Digital that it was "horrifying" and "awful" to see these photos, which were once pleasant and often used as Facebook profile photos. Looking at the photos, one cannot help but wonder if the targets were aware of the danger they were in, as they appeared happy, glamorous, and surrounded by family."

A new true-crime podcast on Wondery, "Kill List," is hosted by Miller and explores how he stumbled upon a fake hitman-for-hire site on the dark web, leading him and his team to alert the police.

Miller disclosed private information of potential victims during his investigation, such as their workplace addresses and photographs being posted online.

The Hollywood Reporter reported that the series covers some of the 175 kill orders that Miller's team handed over to police, resulting in 32 convictions and over 150 years of prison time.

Miller remembered how some of the kill orders continued, with detailed instructions on how to carry out the hit, such as the target's daily routine, the location of their car and workplace, and the need to be cautious due to the presence of a dog.

"He revealed that the investigation led to justifications for the person's death. We had to meticulously examine these reasons because they were our most valuable clues in identifying the person responsible for the order. It is a challenging task to directly access the mind of someone who desires to kill another person. This is a place that most individuals do not have to confront in their daily lives."

In 2020, an IT technician and hacker named Chris Monteiro discovered a security vulnerability on a website that granted him full access to it, as reported by The Guardian. The outlet revealed that Monteiro found a "kill list," a spreadsheet containing hundreds of individuals from various countries whose clients wanted them eliminated.

"Our podcast was supposed to reflect on dark net assassinations from the past few years, but we were caught off guard when Chris started sending us live kill orders. The majority of the podcast's narrative revolves around us trying to cope with the unexpected situation, making sense of it, and responding responsibly."

The Guardian reported that the website, which was run by a Romanian crook, was a scam and the fraudster pocketed the payment despite Miller's attempts to review private messages between clients and the website's owner with Monteiro's help.

Miller clarified that the site was not a real hitman-for-hire platform, despite popular belief. The site had no intention of sending out assassins and was solely interested in taking money from perpetrators. This was realized early on, as intercepted kill orders revealed that no assassinations were actually taking place.

If they were real assassins, they were the least competent assassins you would ever encounter," Miller stated. "They consistently got lost, lost their gun, encountered targets that were too well protected, or found themselves in a different country. These assassins were incompetent because there was no hitman. The Romanian cybercriminals were only trying to extort money and, after collecting it, they would ignore the victim.

"The true threat was not the targets on the list, but the people who were determined to carry out the attack."

The price for death varied, said Miller.

"In the UK, a love triangle occurred involving a store manager and two employees. One employee attempted to murder the other. The order was for approximately 100 pounds. This was the smallest order we saw. However, in the US, a doctor paid over $50,000 for a hit. We saw a range of orders between $10,000 and $40,000."

Miller recognized the authenticity of the orders and promptly contacted his local UK police for a mental health background check.

"I believe they were concerned that I was insane," stated Miller. "After they realized I wasn't, they took it seriously. However, the issue was that these orders were located globally. We had instances in Russia, Finland, Spain, and the U.S. ... In Spain, we were ridiculed by the police, which is on tape," he added.

In America, one of the targets was informed by police that they believed we were scammers. In Switzerland, another target was told by police that they suspected we were operating the site for a story. Despite this, there was no evidence to support these claims.

"That was likely the most challenging and lowest point in the investigation for us."

In an attempt to be taken seriously by police, Miller and his team contacted the targets directly to warn them. Additionally, they were prepared to offer the targets any assistance necessary to inform law enforcement.

"Miller stated, "Stepping out of a typical journalist role is highly unusual." Journalists typically report, wait, and observe, but they do not intervene. If there had been another way to keep people safe, they would have taken it. However, they could not think of an effective method. The situation involved Romanian cybercriminals trying to hide from them and police who did not believe them. As a result, they took action."

Initially, Miller was concerned about contacting the targets, fearing that those who desired their elimination might become agitated and take action on their own. Additionally, he did not want the recipients to experience a panic attack.

The reaction he received was shocking.

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During the calls, most people remained stoic and calm, taking time to process the message. One of the women I spoke to was completely unfazed by the news and didn't change her plans for the evening. She went to see her friend who lives next to her estranged husband.

"A man from Wisconsin posed rational inquiries, but a week later, he revealed that he experienced a persistent feeling of insecurity. He would always be prepared to fight, anticipating danger from every direction. Even when he shoveled snow, he would rush back inside his house whenever a car passed by. I believe it is challenging for individuals to regain a sense of safety once they have become accustomed to feeling threatened."

Eventually, the FBI believed that Miller's investigation was genuine after getting a whiff of it from the podcast.

"After verifying the information's authenticity, they initiated an investigation into U.S. cases. As a result, we witnessed more effective police investigations."

Miller believes that the podcast will increase awareness about other similar sites that may exist. He stated that this could happen to anyone.

Although I do not wish to alarm anyone unnecessarily, I believe one of the most surprising aspects of my experience was the normalcy of everyone involved, regardless of whether they were the target or the perpetrator. Prior to this encounter, I had assumed that we would be dealing with drug-related incidents or organized crime, but that was not the case.

"In most cases, the individuals on the list and those responsible for adding them resembled typical individuals, leading normal lives and holding typical jobs. Despite this, the perpetrators often managed to maintain a facade of respectability while secretly and desperately attempting to have someone killed."

"Kill List" is available everywhere you get podcasts.