A man was jailed for conspiring with a teen to create a fake Amazon website designed to steal users’ financial data.
Ewan McGavin paid Blaine Flatt to build the site. It was meant to grab banking details. The scam didn’t launch, but it could have fooled many.
McGavin denied doing anything wrong, but he was still found guilty. He helped create something for fraud. Flatt already received his sentence.
McGavin contacted Flatt back in 2018. He paid over £2,000 for a fake refund website that looked like a real Amazon page. The address was “amzconfimations.us” and it stole logins and card numbers, said the judge.
They talked on WhatsApp and planned in secret. They argued about payment a lot. The website never actually went live.
Flatt was investigated due to child images on Pinterest. Police found things in his home, taking iPhones, a laptop, and a hard drive. They found child abuse images on his devices, also discovering cannabis and drug dealing messages.
Last year, Flatt got a suspended prison sentence. He did unpaid work and faced a sexual harm order for ten years.
Flatt’s lawyer said the case had delays and that Flatt ran away to Asia. He committed the crime at age 16 and he had a rough childhood, reports say.
McGavin had a shoplifting charge from 2013. McGavin’s lawyer said he seemed odd during the trial. McGavin spent time in jail already, and the lawyer asked to suspend his sentence.
The fake site aimed to trick vulnerable people, and McGavin wanted to steal their data. The judge saw McGavin as a loner and jailed him for 30 months. He can use his skills honestly and will serve half in prison, then be released.
Police urged people to be careful online. This shows they pursue cyber criminals, as these scams hurt the public.
Phishing scams trick victims for information. They make fake emails that look real and try to appear as trusted companies.