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Web scammers catch victims by emailing fake job offers
Mark Prigg, Science and Technology Editor18 Nov 2009
One in six Londoners has been targeted in a multi-million-pound scam that involves fake job offers being emailed from seemingly legitimate companies.
Police say criminals are taking advantage of the recession to appeal to the unemployed to launder illegal earnings.
Emails that claim to be from recruitment firms tell people they have been offered jobs such as “financial manager”, “money transfer agent” or “shipping manager”. When victims apply they are asked for their bank details and used as mules to launder money.
Tony Neate, managing director of Get Safe Online, said the scams were becoming more common: “There are approximately 100 known mule recruitment sites targeting the UK, each of which may have 50 active mules.”
He believes each mule could make total transactions of about £1,500 before being caught.
Get Safe Online said 88 per cent of London internet users were unaware of the scams — even though one in six claimed to have been offered a job online for which they never applied.
