Conmen are wreaking havoc by scamming new university students.
Freshers are letting gangs pass money through their accounts in return for drugs, designer clothes or cash.
Some gangs use girls to find recruits at campus parties. Others are lured on social media with fake offers of earning up to £1,000 in deals on Bitcoin cryptocurrency.
Students hand over bank details, allowing payments in and out. But it is money laundering, carrying up to 14 years in jail.
In a second scam foreign students are offered a 10% reduction in uni fees. Money is paid to a rogue middleman, who “pays” online with a stolen bank card. By the time the payment “bounces” the agent has vanished, the student has lost thousands and faces being kicked out for non-payment.
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Some parents have had to use life savings to bail children out amid threats from villains.
Universities have issued warnings, with King’s College London declaring on its website: “This kind of scam will not only see you lose money, but you also risk imprisonment and an end to your university degree.”
The National Crime Agency has been showing a film called Crooks on Campus – featuring real fraudsters – to hammer home the message to students.
Lancaster University’s Dr Nicola Harding said: “It is essential viewing for all students, staff, friends and parents”.
In the past three years, £60million has been blocked from 88,000 accounts over suspected money muling.
The cash finances crime and even terrorism. In one case, in Yorkshire, a bank seized £170,000 from the account of a student.
Mule
Student Ben, 18, fell for the money laundering scam in Yorkshire after a pal said he had made £6,000 from it.
He says: “I gave my card, pin and online banking login. A guy put money in. A week later he told me to withdraw £2k. Next day I took another £2k out. The third time the machine kept my card.
“My account was frozen. Months later I got letters from other banks. This guy had opened four accounts, taken a loan and two credit cards out. It has destroyed my life. I am blacklisted.”
Victim
Lee, living in London, lost £22,000 to a conman. He said: “I came to the UK on a student visa from China
“There was a chat group, this guy was saying I could receive a 10% discount, £2,400, on my fees. He sent me a bank number, I transferred the money.
“Everything seemed OK. Then the university told me there had been a problem. The fees had not been paid.
“And unless I paid in two months I’d no longer have a place. I don’t have any money. I’ve lost everything and feel like I’m a failure to my family.”