Major phishing provider taken offline after international operation

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Police and security services from no fewer than nineteen countries this week took down an international phishing provider founded in the United Kingdom. The operation, in which the federal judicial police in Brussels participated for our country, was coordinated at international level by Europol. Criminals used LabHost to obtain people’s personal data.

Between Sunday April 14 and Wednesday April 17, approximately 70 searches were conducted worldwide, resulting in the arrest of 37 suspects. They also include four people in the United Kingdom who are believed to have been involved in the operation of the site, including the original developer of the service, Europol reported in a statement on Thursday.

Criminals could, for a fee, use fake websites that resembled those of banks or the government, for example. They sent the web pages via spam emails or text messages asking victims to share personal information. With this data they could defraud victims in other ways, such as through bank helpdesk fraud. In addition to templates, LabHost also provided an easy-to-follow manual so that potential fraudsters with limited IT knowledge could easily use the service.

The investigation revealed at least 40,000 phishing domains linked to LabHost, which had about 10,000 users worldwide, Europol said.