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Both local and international students are being offered “quick and easy money” to get involved in illegal activities under false pretences.
The Australian Federal Police – in cooperation with ANZ, CommBank, NAB, and Westpac – has warned of scammers enticing university students into “side-hustle” jobs that are, in fact, linked to criminal activity.
Authorities expect these efforts to increase in conjunction with the start of a new school year.
The jobs, the AFP warns, may appear legitimate but actually involve everything from money laundering to identity theft. One of the most common “job offers” targeting students is to become a money mule, which involves money made by illicit means being deposited into the student’s account before being transferred again to another account, thus laundering the money.
Criminal networks are offering vulnerable students, both local and international, about $1,000 per month to take part in these fake jobs.
“Fake job scams can pose devastating consequences for victims, such as visa cancellations and imprisonment,” AFP Commander of Cybercrime Operations Graeme Marshall said in a 27 March statement.
“Imagine moving to another country to build your career and future, only to have it all taken away because you were scammed by criminals to help them move their dirty money around.”
Milan Gigovic, ANZ’s head of financial crime threat management, said the banks were “committed to actively combating this threat”.
“That’s why we’ve designed and built dynamic algorithms specifically targeting mule activity and are collaborating with our banking peers and other public and private partnerships, which include the AFP’s JPC3 team, to investigate, report, and shut down these accounts,” Gigovic said.
Georgia Brookes, NAB head of financial crime investigations, said it was important for students to be aware of common red flags when approached by scammers.
“It’s illegal to rent, buy or sell a bank account,” Brookes said.
“Be alert to any job where you are offered a commission for transferring funds through your own account. When a mule account is detected, we take action and freeze accounts.
“By working together, we can make Australia a much tougher place for criminals to be successful. Besides ‘money mule’ scams, students may be targeted by jobs advertised as mostly ‘side-hustle’ gigs that require little work and no experience, such as liking social media posts or reviewing products, for reasonable payment.”
Other scams targeting students involve fake investments, dodgy training schemes, and requests for personal information under the guise of applying for work that doesn’t exist. The scammers then open an account in the victim’s name.
“If you are applying for work in Australia, no job offer should require payment from you before you are hired,” Commander Marshall said.
“If there’s no interview process, the job description seems vague, or you are offered money to move funds around, walk away.”
What to do if you’re a victim of a scam
Report it to the police, quoting the reference number AFP-068.
Report it to Scamwatch to help others avoid similar scams.
Stop all communication with the scammer.
Situations such as this can be upsetting. If you, or someone you know, needs help, we encourage you to contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636. They provide 24/7 support services.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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