Hundreds of Irish students agreeing to let fraudsters use their bank accounts could lead to possible jail time, it has been reported.
Gardaí believe hundreds of millions of euro have been laundered through Irish bank accounts with students complicit in criminal acts.
They are being contacted via social media with the lure of making easy money. Criminals see university campuses as soft targets for recruiting these “money mules”.
Detective Chief Superintendent Patrick Lordan Irish Independent students who had got involved in the scam were now under threat of being jailed.
“There are several hundred student accounts in Ireland being used for this type of activity,” he said.
“We’ve seen one student do it two or three times, so they know what they’re doing. And they are now getting into trouble. Some have been charged and more will be charged.
“Custodial sentences are now in the frame. Because without a money mule, this fraud often doesn’t work. It’s like drug trafficking.”
Once a scam has been successful, scammers need a bank account to transfer the money into for withdrawal.
“What happens is that someone approaches a student and says ‘a friend of mine wants to invest here in Ireland, but it’s taking a while to get past the red tape, so I’ll pay you €500 to use your account’,” said the senior officer.
The fraudster then wires illicit cash into the account before getting the student to take it out or move it on to a further account.
Det Chief Supt Lordan said students must be fully aware they are facing serious criminal sanctions if they engage in what may appear harmless.
“These students are committing offences,” he said. “This can have a permanent effect on your life.”
He said any students who found themselves in such a situation should report it.
