7 YEARS’ IMPRISONMENT FOR PHISHING KIT UNI STUDENT

Sarah Gaunt successfully prosecuted a university student who had developed and sold over 1000 highly sophisticated unique phishing kits with an onward fraud estimated to be well in excess of £100 million worldwide (estimated as being in excess of £168 million). The criminality affected a vast number of victims worldwide.

The prosecution resulted from a joint UK/Europol investigation. The phishing kits were deployed worldwide through at least 24 countries and had targeted financial and/or Governmental institutions in, amongst others, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA.

Several national banks were targeted, including the National Australia Bank, Scotia Bank, Danske Bank, Banque Populaire, Deutsche Postbank, National Bank of Greece, Bank of Ireland, TS, Banque Internationale a Luxembourg, Bank Norwegian, Credit Suisse, HSBC, Lloyds, Monzo, NatWest, Santander, Wise, Bank of America and also others such as those based in the UAE.

Global organisations such as Apple, Binance, Citibank; Coinbase, DHL and PayPal were also targeted.

Sarah prosecuted this matter on behalf of the Serious Economic, Organised Crime and International Directorate (SEOCID), with the investigation having been led by the City of London Police (DCPCU) and conducted in conjunction with International Partners in Switzerland (Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland and Federal Office of Police) and Finland.

Media: BBC, CPS Press Release, UK Finance, The Guardian, ITV