Scammers targeting struggling students

Victims of money-laundering schemes could lose more than their money. Photo / Kenny Rodger

CANBERRA: Australian students have been warned against internet scams that could put them behind bars rather than provide easy money to stretch tight budgets.

Federal police and bankers have joined in a campaign against "money mule" rackets that they fear will especially trap struggling international students, who could be expelled from the country if convicted.

The scams involve moving money through personal bank accounts for apparently legal businesses offering commissions based on the amounts handled, or through honey traps operated by criminals faking online romances.

Both scams are operated by international crime organisations pumping millions of fake offers to random email addresses, chatrooms, social networking sites, and fake websites and advertisements, in sophisticated money-laundering operations. They also use legitimate employment websites and publications.

Karl Kent, federal police acting national manager, high-tech crime operations, said people who were fooled into allowing their bank accounts to be used to receive stolen funds and transfer them to other accounts became part of criminal money-laundering schemes.

"These scams involve you in a criminal enterprise and there are serious penalties under Australian and international law for laundering money," he said.

While the prospect of making easy money might appear attractive, any commission payments would be recovered as the proceeds of crime, and people convicted of acting as money mules could face jail sentences of up to 20 years.

Australian Bankers Association chief executive David Bell said that people involved in money-mule scams not only risked prosecution and the loss of any commissions they earned but would also lose their access to banking facilities and risked the theft of their identities by criminal gangs.

"The criminals who have recruited a mule don't need him or her once the money has been cycled through their accounts," Bell said.

"When they are finished with you they leave you to face the police and the courts alone."

International students are considered to be especially vulnerable, and could suffer even more than Australians.

Bell said if they lost their banking facilities they would no longer have access to financial support from families, friends and organisations in their home countries.

Kent said they could also lose their futures.

"If you are in Australia on a student visa, having a criminal conviction recorded against you may mean that you are not able to complete your studies at an Australian institution," he said.

Police warn people to be cautious about accepting any unsolicited offers oropportunities to make money simply by moving funds in and out of any bankaccount, especially if it involves offersfrom overseas.

They also warn against accepting web links included in any offer as proof that the company or person is legitimate, and say to always verify the legitimacy of any offer through corporate watchdogs, such as the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.

Never provide confidential banking or personal details, and be wary of anyone asking for financial assistance.

HOW TO FIND A MONEY MULE
* Flood the internet with millions of emails, posing as legitimate businesses, prospective employers, or heartsick romantics looking for love.
* Offer commissions, either in cash or in goods such as laptops and mobile phones, usually bought with illicit funds.
* Detail how easy money can be made by simply using a prospective mule's account to transfer funds in and out (and maybe stripping it of any other cash held there as well).
* Rub egos and greed by talking of exclusive, private clients and such hooks as competitive, graduated salaries: in one case A$2000 ($2480) for the first month, increasing for accurate and timely future work.
* Or, in another example, seek "data entry clerks" by requiring non-returnable administration fees for further details, then demanding account details for money transfers.
* Or prowl dating websites and chatrooms posing as lovelorn, working the gullible with months of online romance before declaring undying love and asking for money to pay for airfares for a meeting in person, or maybe to help a sick relative.
* Take the money and run.