A young British hacker has been sentenced to prison for orchestrating a large-scale phishing scam targeting Coinbase account holders. This case highlights not only the sophistication of cyber criminals but also the legal system’s growing resolve to address cryptocurrency-related crimes.
British Hacker Sentenced for Phishing Scam
A British computer hacker has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for his role in a sophisticated phishing scam that targeted Coinbase users. Elliot Gunton, who was 17 and 18 years old at the time of the offenses, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud outside the UK and money laundering.
The Norwich Crown Court heard that Gunton and his accomplices managed to steal over $900,000 from more than 500 Coinbase accounts during 2018 and 2019. The crypto scam involved directing users to a fake website that mimicked Coinbase’s login page, allowing the hackers to harvest account credentials.
Judge Alice Robinson, presiding over the case, described the operation as highly sophisticated offending that involved significant planning and technical expertise. This isn’t Gunton’s first brush with the law. In 2019, he received a 20-month prison sentence for stealing personal data from TalkTalk customers, which he exchanged for cryptocurrency
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He earlier avoided jail time by completing a 12-month rehabilitation order. Gunton was also previously ordered to pay back £407,359 ($524,700) for hacking high-profile Instagram accounts.
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Regulatory Action Against Coinbase UK
In a related development, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has imposed a £3.5 million ($4.5 million) fine on Coinbase’s UK arm, CB Payments Limited (CBPL). This penalty stems from CBPL’s breach of a voluntary agreement designed to prevent the onboarding of high-risk customers.
In October 2020, CBPL had agreed to restrict new signups from customers the FCA identified as “high-risk” and to refrain from providing services to these individuals. This agreement aimed to reduce money laundering risks and maintain market integrity. However, the FCA discovered that CBPL had onboarded and served 13,416 “high-risk customers” despite this arrangement.
The FCA emphasized its intolerance for such negligence, viewing it as a threat to financial market integrity. The substantial fine is intended to send a clear message about the importance of crypto exchange‘s compliance systems and adherence to regulatory standards.
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