Crimestoppers
Fearless
Student warning about gangs targeting them to launder money
In the UK, it is estimated that around £10 million of illegal money is laundered each year.*
We are asking people to spot the signs of student financial exploitation and to contact us anonymously if they know who is behind the scam.
We are independent of the police and guarantee everyone stays 100% anonymous. Always.
Unsuspecting university students are often targeted by criminals via fake job adverts in the press, on social media and via mobile messaging, where they are tricked into cleaning ‘dirty money’ in return for making ‘easy money’. Victims are approached because they are less likely to have a criminal record (so-called clean skins), and many are actively seeking employment to support their finances whilst studying.
Criminal gangs exploit these students by convincing them to share their bank account details or by asking if they can ‘borrow’ their account. These accounts are then used for depositing, withdrawing and transferring onward sums of money, with the promise of a percentage for the student to keep.
This money has usually been obtained through fraudulent or criminal means and is used for further crime activity which harms people and communities across Yorkshire and beyond.
Recruitment is often through:
- Classified adverts in the press and online which look legitimate
- Unsolicited emails asking for assistance
- Contact via social networking or messaging sites
- Fake job adverts on websites posing as legitimate businesses
Students are asked to look out for terms like:
- Work from home
- No experience necessary
- Make £300 a week
- Must have own UK bank account
Real financial fraud case study:
Last year a student at a regional university was contacted by a distant family member who persuaded him to launder money through his bank account. The payment the student received was designer clothes and trainers. The bank noticed lots of suspicious transactions and notified the police. When questioned, the student stated he was lending his friends money and they were paying him back gradually, hence money entering and leaving his account. The student’s bank account was then frozen to the sum of £10,000. The impact now is that he has a closed bank account which will show up on future credit searches which may affect his ability to obtain finance in the future, i.e. loans, mortgages and mobile phone contracts.
“We know criminals don’t care about the impact or suffering experienced by the people they exploit.
“It is an easy mistake for a student to get caught up in this type of crime, which could be extremely costly for their future. They risk their bank account being closed and not being able to open another. Not being able to get a student loan and their future credit being ruined; getting a criminal record and a jail term of up to 14 years.
“I encourage anyone with information about the people behind this financial crime who are targeting students to contact our charity 100% anonymously, either via our website or by phone.
“Crimestoppers never asks for or stores the personal details of those who contact us. The information we pass on will help protect students from the harm of being caught up, however innocently, in serious crime which could have a devastating impact on their lives and their future.”
Gemma Gibbs, Crimestoppers Yorkshire & Humberside Regional Manager
To report a financial fraudster 100% anonymously, fill in a secure online form or call our charity’s 24/7 UK-based Contact Centre on 0800 555 111.
Please note: With Crimestoppers computer IP addresses are never traced, and no-one will ever know you contacted them. For telephone calls, there is no caller line display, no 1471 facility and the charity has never traced a call.
* ‘Biggest ever crackdown on money mules in the UK’ The Home Office ( May 2024)
