A 21-year-old student who designed and distributed online kits linked to £100m worth of fraud has been jailed for seven years.
Ollie Holman created phishing kits that mimicked government, bank and charity websites so that criminals could harvest victims’ personal information to defraud them.
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.
Holman, of Eastcote in north-west London, created and supplied 1,052 phishing kits that targeted 69 organisations across 24 countries. He also offered tutorials in how to use the kits and built up a network of almost 700 connections. The fake websites supplied in the kits had features that allowed information such as login and bank details to be stored.
It is estimated Holman received £300,000 from selling the kits between 2021 and 2023. The kits were distributed through the encrypted messaging service Telegram.
Holman, who was studying electronic and computer engineering at the University of Kent in Canterbury, laundered the money he received through cryptocurrency wallets.
The dedicated card and payment crime unit of the City of London police launched an investigation after receiving information from the intelligence firm WMC Global about the fraudulent kits being sold online.
Holman was arrested in October 2023 and his university accommodation was searched and devices were seized. After the arrest he continued to use his Telegram channel to provide support to buyers of his kits. He was rearrested in May 2024.
Detectives found the kits on Holman’s computer and his digital fingerprints linked to their creation. He distributed the kits across Europe and one was connected to a fraud of approximately €1m (£870,000).
Holman pleaded guilty to seven charges, including making or supplying articles for use in fraud, encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence, and transferring, acquiring and possessing criminal property. He was sentenced to seven years at Southwark crown court.
After the sentencing, DS Ben Hurley said Holman had enabled mass fraud on a global scale. “The fraud losses linked to Holman’s actions are in the millions. Furthermore, Holman himself profited massively from the sale of this software, with no thought for how it may cause harm to victims,” he said.
Sarah Jennings, a specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said she hoped the sentence sent a message to other fraudsters. “No matter how sophisticated your methods, you cannot hide behind online anonymity or encrypted platforms,” she said.
The CPS said it would take Holman back to court to recover the money he had made from his crimes.