Students urged not to fall prey to money laundering gangs

warning: Getting involved in criminal activity could lead to 14 years in prison

Students across Tayside are being warned not to get suckered into becoming money “mules” by the lure of quick cash.

Each year, hundreds of vulnerable people are targeted and recruited, sometimes unwittingly, by criminal gangs looking to transfer illegally-obtained money between different bank accounts.

It has become a nationwide issue and Police Scotland will be giving advice to students as universities return for the new term.

They are seen as particularly susceptible to such criminal activity as, for someone in full-time education, the opportunity for making money quickly might understandably be an attractive one.

Local organisations, including Perth and Kinross Community Watch, have also been issuing warnings in light of the severe penalties that can be imposed on participants in the schemes.

The offence of money laundering can lead to prosecution and, for the most serious offences, carries a maximum UK prison sentence of 14 years.

The most immediate threat to the unwitting, however, could come from having passed bank details to individuals who could make use of that information to catastrophic effect.

A spokeswoman for Police Scotland Tayside Division said the force was aware of the problem and would be working with universities and colleges across the area.

“We will be issuing advice to students over the coming weeks as part of our annual Student Safety campaign,” she said.

The criminal practice can see gangs advertise fake jobs in newspapers or on the internet, offering opportunities to make money quickly in order to lure potential money mule recruits.

They do this through social media posts, copying genuine companies’ websites to create an impression of legitimacy, sending mass emails offering employment and even targeting individuals that have posted their CVs on employment websites.

The mule will accept money into their bank account, before following further instructions on what to do with the funds, which could include transferring the money into a separate specified account or withdrawing the cash and forwarding it on via money transfer service companies.

They are generally then paid a small percentage of the funds.

We will be issuing advice to students over the coming weeks as part of our annual Student Safety campaign. POLICE SCOTLAND SPOKESWOMAN