UK student sentenced to 7 years imprisonment for creating and selling phishing kits
A 21-year-old university student has been found guilty of developing and selling 1,052 phishing kits and has to spend the next seven years in prison.
The phishing kits contained fraudulent websites of financial institutions and large organizations. These pages were designed to look real and fool gullible victims into providing their personal and financial information, including bank details and login information.
The student distributed the phishing kits via Telegram, where he also offered his advice and technical support to others intent on committing fraud. The kits targeted 69 financial institutions and large organizations, including charities, in 24 countries, causing a loss of at least £100 million globally.
He was arrested in October 2023 at his dorm at the University of Canterbury, where police officers seized all of his devices. After his initial arrest, the student continued to use his Telegram account to provide support and maintenance of phishing kits until he was arrested again at his home address on May 20th, 2024.
The devices that law enforcement officers seized contained large amounts of digital evidence, which allowed the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to build a strong case against the suspect.
The student pleaded guilty to developing tools that could be used to commit crimes, assisting others to commit fraud, acquiring and transferring criminal property, and possessing criminal property. On July 23rd, 2025, the suspect was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment. In addition, he received a Serious Crime Prevention Order, which is a civil order to limit a perpetrator’s ability to plan, fund, and commit serious crimes in the future.
“By creating and selling phishing kits, the suspect facilitated a widespread fraud that others used to exploit innocent victims on a vast scale. He 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,” Sarah Jennings, Specialist Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said in a statement.
“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 will be robustly pursued by law enforcement, prosecuted by the CPS, and brought to justice,” she continued.
