Phishing for your money takes a new twist

UK computer users could be being 'recruited' as money launderers for phishers. This stark warning from spam researchers at IT security specialist Sophos follows the discovery of a new email scam that disguises itself as a money-making opportunity.

Recipients of these emails, allegedly coming from a bona fide financial institution, are asked to accept sums of money between £2,000 and £2,500 wired directly via Western Union into their bank accounts.

People who agree are then offered a cut of 10 per cent and told to transfer the money, again via Western Union, to another bank account.

This is because the money, believed to be gained from drug trafficking and phishing attacks on people's bank accounts, cannot be transferred directly into the criminals' accounts and has to be laundered.

By persuading UK computer users to act as unwitting 'mules', the phishers create a complicated, practically untraceable system of transfers.

"We don't know where the phishers' bank accounts are but it will slow the authorities down while they try to find out who is the innocent party," warned Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

The emails are entitled 'Work From Home; Prepare to Succeed' and offer a job as a transaction manager to people living in the UK with a computer who will work for two to three hours a week.

"We discovered this scam yesterday and it's a horrible thought that you could unwittingly end up helping these people. But opportunities to make money by working for just a few hours each day are obviously tempting," said Cluley.

However, a law enforcement officer at Scotland Yard's Computer Crime unit said that it was aware of the scam but believe it to be old-fashioned fraud, not money laundering.

It believes that the phishers will not only get the bank account details of the victim, but lure them into a false sense of security by wiring small amounts of money at first.

Then they will send fake cashiers cheques. These will clear a bank account before these are found to be forged, but after the victim has sent the funds on leaving them out of pocket.

Copies of the scam emails can be seen here.