University student who sold fraud kits jailed

Ollie Holman has been jailed for seven years for creating and selling phishing kits

A university student who sold phishing kits which fraudsters used to scam victims out of £100m has been jailed.

Ollie Holman admitted to selling kits which contained fraudulent webpages designed to dupe people into filling in personal and financial information.

After pleading to seven counts, the 21-year-old was handed a seven-year prison sentence and a Serious Crime Prevention Order at Southwark Crown Court.

Sarah 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 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 said.

He also provided technical support and advice, communicating through encrypted messaging app Telegram.

The 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 found.

Holman, of Eastcote, west London, was arrested after a search of his university dorm room in Canterbury, in October 2023.

Following his arrest, he continued to use his Telegram channel to communicate with his customers until a second arrest at his London address in May 2024.

The CPS said they would take Holman back to court to pursue confiscation proceedings.

Ms 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."