A Canterbury University student who sold more than a thousand phishing kits which were used to defraud victims of more than £100m has been jailed for seven years.

Ollie Holman, 21, admitted selling the kits, which contained fraudulent webpages designed to look genuine, to dupe victims into filling in their own personal and financial information.

Mr 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 imprisonment on Wednesday, 23 July. He was also given a Serious Crime Prevention Order following an application from the prosecution.

He created and supplied 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 £100m globally.

The kits contained a phishing webpage designed to look real but which had built-in scripts to enable the harvesting of information entered, including account log-in details and bank details.

Mr Holman distributed the pages via the encrypted messaging service Telegram, where he also offered his advice and technical support to others intent on committing fraud.

He was arrested in October 2023, his accommodation at Canterbury University was searched, and his devices seized. After his initial arrest, Mr Holman continued to use his Telegram channel to provide support and maintenance of phishing kits until he was arrested again at his home address on 20 May 2024, with further devices seized.

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.

“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.”

Following his sentencing, the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division said it will be taking Mr Holman back to court to pursue confiscation proceedings to recover his ill-gotten gains.