UK Police stated that they have infiltrated a massive phishing website on the dark web that has defrauded tens of thousands of individuals, and learned that university students have turned to cyber fraud as a way to increase their revenue.
LabHost was a cyber fraud emporium that allowed users to create realistic-looking websites from major names such as big institutions, ensnaring victims all around the world, including 70,000 in the United Kingdom. It has been in operation from 2021.
Victims entered private data, some of which were used to steal money, but the site's creators also profited by selling details to fraudsters on the dark web.
According to the Metropolitan police, the majority of the victims were between the ages of 25 and 44, and they spent the majority of their time online.
Police believe they apprehended one of the site's major suspected masterminds this week, among 37 individuals held in the UK and abroad.
The Metropolitan Police reported that arrests were made at Manchester and Luton airports, as well as in Essex and London.
Policing in the UK is under pressure to prove that it is effectively combating the rise in cyber fraud.
The site's infiltration is a drop in the ocean compared to the scope of the problem, but police seek to shake criminals' confidence in their ability to act with impunity and intend to shut down more cyber fraud sites.
In the midst of struggles for resources against other criminal objectives like protecting children and bolstering what is often viewed as inadequate protection of women, fraud and cybercrime are seen as difficult crimes for law enforcement to solve.
The Met is currently enjoying its success. The main users of the website have been arrested, and 25,000 victims have been notified in the UK. Some of the users won't be arrested, though, since investigators don't know who they really are.
LabHost collected 480,000 debit or credit card data, and 64,000 pin numbers, and generated £1 million from 2,000 customers who paid up to £300 a month in Bitcoin for membership fees. As a “one-stop-shop for phishing,” it promoted itself.
It included a teaching video on how to use the site to conduct crimes, similar to one on how to use a new consumer product. The video stated that the show takes five minutes to install and that "customer service" was available if there were any issues. It concluded by urging its criminal users, "Stay safe and good spamming.”