The rapper Punchmade Dev, well-known in cybercrime circles, is indeed involved in illegal activities, and he himself lives in a small city by American standards in the state of Kentucky. Well-known information security journalist Brian Krebs came to these conclusions after a short investigation.
“Some time ago, various Punchmade social media accounts began promoting a new online store that sells stolen payment cards and identification information, as well as access to financial accounts and software for making counterfeit checks,” Krebs wrote.
Punchmade Dev's official Instagram account contains a link to many third-party platforms associated with the artist, one of which is located at mainpage[.]me/punchmade. It contains information about the so-called “Punchmade Empire”: more than 200 thousand subscribers in the Telegram channel @whopunchmade and a link to the punchmade[.]atshop[.]io platform, where you can purchase hacked bank accounts and payment cards with large balances. For example, for $80, a buyer will get entry into Cash App accounts with a balance between $3,000 and $5,000.
Trying to determine the rapper's real name, Krebs noticed one of his photos with several necklaces and chains on his chest. One of them became a clue: it was the logo and mascot of the University of Kentucky. In his Spotify profile, the artist indicated that back in 2021 he launched a label called Punchmade Records. A search for companies that include the phrase "punchmade" on the Kentucky Secretary of State's website turns up only one entry: OBN Group LLC in Lexington. It is dated November 2021 and includes a certificate of the intended brand name - Punchmade LLC.
The head of this company is local resident Devon Turner. Another now defunct company is associated with it, mentions of which are preserved on the same website of the Secretary of State of State - DevTakeFlightBeats Inc. The Constella Intelligence service mentions that Devon Turner from Lexington, Kentucky, used the email address obndevpays@gmail[.]com. A DomainTools search for it shows that it was used to register the domain everpunchmade[.]com in Turner's name, and an old copy of the site contains references to the sale of branded Punchmade Dev T-shirts and merchandise.
Upon further investigation, Krebs was able to find out that the rapper was born in October 2000 and was the eldest child of a single mother of five children. He played basketball and football in high school and was also involved in track and field, but traded it all for video games, in which he achieved some success. Turner himself did not respond to the journalist’s request.
