Traced through his takeaway order • Began playing Roblox • Allegedly handled £200m in Crypto • Based in his family flat near Bow Road station • One of the country's leading hackers
And chilling as to how open to this modern society is. Could have been a chunk of the NHS, or DWP. Only going to get worse with A1. Lets not mess about, a VILE individual and sex creep blackmailer. No excuses, none.
First time commenter and new subscriber. What an absolutely brilliant piece. Exactly why I subscribe.
As a volunteer for Neighbourhood Watch in SE18, I'm not suprised at what goes on behind closed doors. The money to be made in cyber crime and the non contact nature of it means it is becoming more and more popular for criminals. Sextortion, another example that is increasingly common and sadly leads to suicides.
To the young neighbours in this article looking to get in on the action: be careful what you wish for. Several members of the Scattered Spider group have been kidnapped, beaten and tortured by other criminals looking to extort their millions in crypto. It looks like Jabair's parents have been targeted too.
This is truly excellent reporting and, sadly, no MSM would have had the resource to investigate this story. I wonder if Jubair’s ‘ talents’ could be turned to support our Security Services/GCHQ in tackling our enemies in this area of cyber conflict. Controversial, I Know but his skills are extraordinary and could significantly disrupt Putin.
Great reporting. I hope he does get extradited, US do not mess about when it comes sentencing for this kind of thing. And the parents knew he was committing theft/fraud by sim swapping? Surely they should be in the dock too.
As someone who comes from a similar socioeconomic background to Jubair and is also Bangladeshi, I can say it’s very likely his parents didn’t fully understand the gravity of the situation or the extent of what was happening.
Excessively lenient sentences strike again. It's a massive waste of police time as much as anything else - why bother paying them to investigate the first crime if you set him free to trigger another huge investigation a year later?
For many of these young people, it seems it's both utterly compulsive and also their only social outlet. Jubair allegedly returned to hacking the moment he could. They're incredibly smart!
eg, Jubair's codefendant in the first case hacked Rockstar games while on bail under police protection in a Travelodge after having his laptop confiscated, using a mobile phone, a Fire Stick and his hotel TV: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-67663128
In fact the hacker groups are specifically targeting kids as young as 12 because they know the legal system won't imprison them before 18 and they'll remain active even if caught. Autistic kids are particularly vulnerable because the group offers them social validation and respect that they might not be getting elsewhere.
Indeed. US investigators are pushing to use the same methods used to tackle youth in street gangs for these sorts of cases. Because their whole social life is tied up in the hacking group, offenders simply return to the group. They are not likely to become "white hat" hackers.
Shoplifting is a different matter - alot of good work has happened in that sphere from the MET recently in my area, including new systems and relations with stores to make sure offenders are targeted, and crime prevention is put in place.
Most shoplifting is a simple as indivduals funding addictions. A solution partly also rests on engaging and punishing those outlets where stolen food etc are passed on.
Agree on the resale - I used to drink in a pub where addicts would routinely come in to resell steaks nicked from the tesco up the road. But there is some evidence that criminal gangs are increasingly contributing:
Magnificent reporting.
And chilling as to how open to this modern society is. Could have been a chunk of the NHS, or DWP. Only going to get worse with A1. Lets not mess about, a VILE individual and sex creep blackmailer. No excuses, none.
Brilliant reporting, it’s extraordinary to think of this happening on your door step.
First time commenter and new subscriber. What an absolutely brilliant piece. Exactly why I subscribe.
As a volunteer for Neighbourhood Watch in SE18, I'm not suprised at what goes on behind closed doors. The money to be made in cyber crime and the non contact nature of it means it is becoming more and more popular for criminals. Sextortion, another example that is increasingly common and sadly leads to suicides.
Amazing article, thanks.
Fantastic journalism, what an insightful read!
To the young neighbours in this article looking to get in on the action: be careful what you wish for. Several members of the Scattered Spider group have been kidnapped, beaten and tortured by other criminals looking to extort their millions in crypto. It looks like Jabair's parents have been targeted too.
Weirdly that area of Bow Road was also where the Russians who poisoned Sergei Skripal stayed too.
This is truly excellent reporting and, sadly, no MSM would have had the resource to investigate this story. I wonder if Jubair’s ‘ talents’ could be turned to support our Security Services/GCHQ in tackling our enemies in this area of cyber conflict. Controversial, I Know but his skills are extraordinary and could significantly disrupt Putin.
Great reporting. I hope he does get extradited, US do not mess about when it comes sentencing for this kind of thing. And the parents knew he was committing theft/fraud by sim swapping? Surely they should be in the dock too.
As someone who comes from a similar socioeconomic background to Jubair and is also Bangladeshi, I can say it’s very likely his parents didn’t fully understand the gravity of the situation or the extent of what was happening.
Excessively lenient sentences strike again. It's a massive waste of police time as much as anything else - why bother paying them to investigate the first crime if you set him free to trigger another huge investigation a year later?
For many of these young people, it seems it's both utterly compulsive and also their only social outlet. Jubair allegedly returned to hacking the moment he could. They're incredibly smart!
eg, Jubair's codefendant in the first case hacked Rockstar games while on bail under police protection in a Travelodge after having his laptop confiscated, using a mobile phone, a Fire Stick and his hotel TV: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-67663128
A strong argument against lenience! Although given the apparent prevalence of smartphones in prison, maybe not as effective as one would like
In fact the hacker groups are specifically targeting kids as young as 12 because they know the legal system won't imprison them before 18 and they'll remain active even if caught. Autistic kids are particularly vulnerable because the group offers them social validation and respect that they might not be getting elsewhere.
That is sad, but "sophisticated criminal business exploits loophole" is solved by "close the loophole"
Indeed. US investigators are pushing to use the same methods used to tackle youth in street gangs for these sorts of cases. Because their whole social life is tied up in the hacking group, offenders simply return to the group. They are not likely to become "white hat" hackers.
See also shoplifting - this is organised crime exploiting the lack of penalties for "minor crimes", often using addicts as the actual shoplifters
Shoplifting is a different matter - alot of good work has happened in that sphere from the MET recently in my area, including new systems and relations with stores to make sure offenders are targeted, and crime prevention is put in place.
Most shoplifting is a simple as indivduals funding addictions. A solution partly also rests on engaging and punishing those outlets where stolen food etc are passed on.
Agree on the resale - I used to drink in a pub where addicts would routinely come in to resell steaks nicked from the tesco up the road. But there is some evidence that criminal gangs are increasingly contributing:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/feb/24/criminals-uk-shops-british-retail-consortium-violence-theft
Proof of the danger of allowing Farage to wield power, as he's the point guy for legitimising crypto, the scammers currency