The British man behind a global service of phishing has been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison.
Zak Coyne created LabHost—a subscription service that allowed fraudsters to access fake versions of legitimate websites.
They could be used by unsuspecting people to trick them into giving out sensitive data.
The British Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed that the 24-year old received $230,000 in cash. The site is responsible for the design and operation.
Digital assets were transferred through several wallets to a bank account after they had been converted by a third-party into cash.
LabHost is a cybercrime hosting service that offers three tiers to members who pay for the use of LabHost. Bitcoin.
A standard plan cost $179 per month, while the priciest package—which allowed multiple campaigns to be executed at once—cost $300.
Some phishing sites masquerade as bank, government department and company websites, including Amazon, Uber, and Netflix.
According to some estimates, LabHost is used by a large number of criminals across 91 countries. These criminals collectively defrauded a total of more than 1 million people.
Chainalysis is a blockchain analytics platform. Crypto wallets Digital assets valued at more than $1.1million were distributed to those who had ties with the site between August 2021 – April 2024.
In the U.K., losses totaled $42 million. They reached $132 million globally.
Coyne’s website, which was taken down in April of the following year at Manchester Airport (North of England), was also arrested.
Investigators recovered a large amount of evidence after his devices were seized, with London's Metropolitan Police describing it as a "monumental operation."
Commander Stephen Clayman said Coyne had brought "misery to thousands of innocent people," and told would-be fraudsters: "We will find you and take action."
Last September, the father of a child pleaded guilty on three counts.
Judge Jenny Lester-Ashworth told him during sentencing that LabHost was "one of the most professional and sophisticated websites in the world" for online fraud.
""You also enjoyed what you were doing and also by being immersed in the criminal underworld operating online," she added.
