Global phishing network busted

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According to Europol, investigators in 19 countries have uncovered one of the world’s largest phishing platforms. “LabHost” offered fake websites and software for cyber criminals, as the European police authority announced in The Hague on Thursday. 37 suspects were arrested, including the four suspected masterminds in the UK. The Austrian Federal Criminal Police Office (BK) was also involved.

According to Europol, around 10,000 suspects had used LabHost’s services. Approximately 480,000 credit cards and nearly 1.2 million passwords were stolen worldwide. The lead investigators in London suspect that the number of victims is far higher. Not all of the data has been analyzed yet, and this part of the investigation is still ongoing in Austria, according to the Federal Criminal Police Office.
The platform offered services for around 300 US dollars (just over 280 euros) per month. Even inexperienced hackers could use fake websites, mainly from banks, postal services, and telecom companies. They then sent e-mails to their victims, asking them to log in to the fake websites using the corresponding links, disclose their secret numbers or passwords, or even pay money. According to Europol, criminals were able to choose from 170 websites or have them built to order by the platform. According to the information, 70 buildings were searched during the operation from Sunday to Wednesday under the direction of the London police.