Criminals are paying cash-strapped foreign students in London for their bank account details to commit fraud, an investigation has found.
Gangs are offering hundreds of pounds to international students to launder money, using them as “money mules”, City of London Police said.
An undercover operation found some students were willingly giving their bank account details to fraudsters for a cash pay-out but an increasing number were being targeted and having details stolen.
Detective Inspector Craig Mullish, from the City police’s money laundering unit, said: “We are aware that students are being targeted as money mules.
“Their role is to collectively move monies around, hopefully under the radar, so a money mule will open a bank account, maybe pay in or have paid into their account a few thousand pounds, collectively in excess of £24 billion that’s laundered through the UK every year.”
He added: “Lured by the promise of big cash pay-offs, it seems there is no shortage of international students in London who are willing to make their bank accounts available to fraudsters.
“But other students, who have no criminal connections whatsoever, are also finding themselves drawn into the illicit business of money laundering. Their bank accounts are literally being hijacked.”
An investigation by the BBC’s Inside Out team also revealed cases where bank employees are involved in providing information to organised crime groups that enable them to compromise innocent people’s accounts.
A maths student, named only as Amrit, sold his details to a gang after moving to the UK from Delhi. He said: “I’m an international student here. When I first arrived I had only £200 in my wallet. I did not realise living in London would be so costly.
“A fellow student told me that he could give me £500 if I gave him my banking details, like account number, sort code, everything. And so I did.
“I knew it was wrong and that he would probably use my account to do something bad but at that time I just needed the money.”
Another student, Tarun Gupta, 19, said his bank account was used after his details were stolen. The mechanical engineering student said: “I found out that around £10,000 or so went into my Nationwide account so I called them up straight away.”
In less than 24 hours, almost £50,000 had been siphoned through Mr Gupta’s accounts, effectively turning him into a money mule.
He said: “Following the investigation the bank placed a fraud mark on my account, and I haven’t been able to apply for bank accounts, which in turn means I haven’t been able to apply for jobs. I haven’t done anything wrong and I am the one who is being punished.”
