Latest news with #OllieHolman
Daily Mail
25-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Tech geek student, 21, who sold phishing kits for fraudsters to scam victims out of £100million is jailed
A tech student who sold phishing kits for fraudsters to scam victims out of £100million has been jailed. Ollie Holman enjoyed a 'lavish lifestyle' as a result of selling the kits while victims, which included companies and charities across 24 countries, were targeted. The kits contained fake webpages to trick victims into sharing personal and financial information. The webpages, designed to look real, harvested information, including log-ins and bank details. The 21-year-old studying at Canterbury University shared the pages via Telegram, where he shared advice with others on how to commit fraud, Southwark Crown Court heard. Holman was arrested at his accommodation in October 2023. He admitted two counts of encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence, two of making or supplying articles for use in fraud and transferring, acquiring and possessing criminal property. He was jailed for seven years and made subject to a serious crime prevention order at Southwark Crown Court. The charges followed an investigation by the City of London Police, supported by police in Switzerland and Finland. Sarah Jennings, Specialist Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'By creating and selling phishing kits, Ollie Holman facilitated a widespread fraud which others used to exploit innocent victims on a vast scale. 'Holman acted with greed and profited handsomely from this illegal enterprise, funding his own lavish lifestyle at the expense of countless individuals and businesses who suffered devastating financial losses and emotional harm. 'The prosecution team, working closely with City of London Police and international partners, was able to build a strong case with clear, compelling evidence, resulting in the defendant's guilty pleas. 'I hope this case sends a clear message to those intent on committing fraud: no matter how sophisticated your methods, you cannot hide behind online anonymity or encrypted platforms. 'Fraudsters like Holman will be robustly pursued by law enforcement, prosecuted by the CPS, and brought to justice.' Holman, of Eastcote, west London, will now face confiscation proceedings.
ITV News
24-07-2025
- ITV News
University student who sold more than a thousand phishing kits to fraudsters is jailed
A university student who sold phishing kits to defraud victims of millions of pounds has been jailed. Ollie Holman, 21, admitted to selling more than a thousand 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 in jail. Sarah Jennings, Specialist Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "By creating and selling phishing kits, Ollie Holman facilitated a widespread fraud which others used to exploit innocent victims on a vast scale. "Holman acted with greed and profited handsomely from this illegal enterprise, funding his own lavish lifestyle at the expense of countless individuals and businesses who suffered devastating financial losses and emotional harm. "The prosecution team, working closely with City of London Police and international partners, was able to build a strong case with clear, compelling evidence, resulting in the defendant's guilty pleas. "I hope this case sends a clear message to those intent on committing fraud: no matter how sophisticated your methods, you cannot hide behind online anonymity or encrypted platforms. Fraudsters like Holman will be robustly pursued by law enforcement, prosecuted by the CPS, and brought to justice." Ollie Holman was responsible for the creation and supply of 1,052 phishing kits which targeted 69 financial institutions and large organisations, including charities, in 24 countries and resulted in estimated losses of at least £100 million globally. These kits contained a phishing webpage which was designed to look real. These fraudulent webpages had built-in scripts to enable the harvesting of information entered, including account log-in details and bank details. Holman distributed these phishing pages via the encrypted messaging service Telegram, where he also offered his advice and technical support to others intent on committing fraud.
The Guardian
24-07-2025
- The Guardian
Canterbury student jailed for selling phishing kits to fraudsters
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. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion 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.
BBC News
24-07-2025
- BBC News
Canterbury university student who sold phishing kits jailed
A university student who sold phishing kits which fraudsters used to scam victims out of £100m has been Holman admitted to selling kits which contained fraudulent webpages designed to dupe people into filling in personal and financial pleading to seven counts, the 21-year-old was handed a seven-year prison sentence and a Serious Crime Prevention Order at Southwark Crown Jennings, of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: "Holman acted with greed and profited handsomely from this illegal enterprise, funding his own lavish lifestyle at the expense of countless individuals and businesses." Holman, a student at Canterbury Christ Church University, created and sold 1,052 kits which provided fraudulent webpages with built-in scripts to enable the harvesting of information entered, including account log-in details and bank details, the CPS also provided technical support and advice, communicating through encrypted messaging app kits were used to defraud 69 financial institutions, as well as large organisations and charities of millions of pounds across 24 countries, an investigation by the City of London Police of Eastcote, west London, was arrested after a search of his university dorm room in October his arrest, he continued to use his Telegram channel to communicate with his customers until a second arrest at his London address in May CPS said they would take Holman back to court to pursue confiscation Jennings added: "No matter how sophisticated your methods, you cannot hide behind online anonymity or encrypted platforms."Fraudsters like Holman will be robustly pursued by law enforcement, prosecuted by the CPS, and brought to justice."
