Turkish hacker receives 334-year prison sentence for online banking scam

A 26-year-old Turkish hacker has received a record prison sentence of 334 years after being found guilty of a phishing scam that stole bank customers' card details which were then sold on to other cyber criminals.

Onur Kopçak was already serving a 199-year sentence that was handed out in 2013 after he was arrested for being part of a group of 12 hackers who produced replica banking websites that tricked customers into unwittingly sharing valuable personal data such as their login details. Convictions ranged from website forgery to identity fraud and wire fraud; now to add to the lengthy prison stay a further 135 years has been put on top for Kopçak's involvement in credit card theft.

The total prison sentence of 334 years is believed to be the longest known punishment handed out to a hacker for their involvement in cybercrimes and will see Kopçak spend his whole life at the Osmaniye prison in Turkey despite appealing for a reduced sentence.

In a report by website, Hacked, Kopçak allegedly sent a letter to the court saying: "The decision of the state Supreme Court institution [is one] that I did not deserve in any way," and claims he stated he was sure that those convicting him "do not even remember the colour of my skin".

While the staggering sentence length is enough to garner notoriety other hackers like Gary McKinnon who hacked the US military computer system and Ross Ulbricht, alleged kingpin of dark web drug marketplace Silk Road, gained far more infamy for their crimes – with the latter also receiving a life sentence.