Student Jailed For £100M Phishing Fraud Scheme

Uploaded on 2025-08-01 in NEWS-Cybersecurity News, GOVERNMENT-Law Enforcement, FREE TO VIEW

Th UK has drawn attention to a large-scale cyber fraud operation centered around phishing kits. Now, A University student who sold more than a thousand phishing kits which were used to defraud victims of millions of pounds, has today been jailed for seven years.

Ollie Holman, 21, admitted to selling phishing kits, which contained fraudulent webpages designed to look genuine, to dupe victims into filling in their own personal and financial information.

Holman, of Eastcote, West London, previously pleaded guilty to seven counts, including encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence, making or supplying articles for use in fraud, and transferring, acquiring, and possessing criminal property.

He was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court to seven years imprisonment on Wednesday, 23 July 2025. He was also given a Serious Crime Prevention Order following an application from the prosecution.

Holman has admitting creating and distributing over 1,000 phishing kits that enabled others to carry out global digital fraud.

These kits were designed to mimic login pages of banks, charities, and large organisations, tricking users into entering personal and financial information.

In one case a kit was used to mimic a charity’s donation webpage so when someone tried to give money, their card details were taken and used by criminals.

Around 69 institutions in 24 countries were targeted, with damages reaching at least £100 million, according to a statement published by the Crown Protection Services.

Distributed through encrypted Telegram channels, the tools were not only sold but supported. The developer provided technical assistance and guidance to buyers, ensuring the phishing pages functioned effectively, an approach more often seen in commercial software support than in cybercrime.

Police arrested Holman in October 2023 at his Canterbury University accommodation and they seizing a lot of his digital devices.

Despite the initial arrest, he allegedly continued offering support for his tools via Telegram, prompting a second arrest in May 2024 at his home. The electronic digital evidence that was found at his home played a crucial role in his sentence.

The phishing kits were customisable and designed to work across platforms, increasing their appeal to cyber criminals with limited technical knowledge.

In effect, they democratised access to high-quality fraudulent tools, enabling a broader base of actors to conduct financial scams with minimal effort. In addition to the prison sentence, the court imposed a Serious Crime Prevention Order to restrict the individual’s ability to participate in or support future criminal activity. This civil measure is intended to prevent further involvement in similar offenses after release.

The case underlines the growing threat posed by turnkey cyber crime tools and highlights the importance of prosecuting such offenses. It also reflects the importance of punishing not only the end users of these tools, but also the developers enabling widespread digital fraud.

Image: Pixabay

Crown Prosecution Service | I-His | The Guardian | BBC | Freevacy | Law 360 | ITV

Image:

If you like this website and use the comprehensive 8,000-plus service supplier Directory, you can get unrestricted access, including the exclusive in-depth Directors Report series, by signing up for a Premium Subscription.