The phishing fraudsters have stepped up their campaign to recruit witting or unwitting accomplices, known by police as “money mules”.

The fraudsters, who are usually based in Eastern Europe or West Africa, need local people with UK bank accounts through which to siphon the stolen money.

Recruitment adverts in newspapers or online from fraudsters posing as companies or charities have risen from fewer than ten a month three years ago to 100 or more a month now, according to Apacs.

Fraudsters use the passwords to empty victims’ bank accounts but they need accomplices with legitimate UK bank accounts because of restrictions on overseas money transfers.

Money mules are recruited with the promise that they will be, say, marketing managers for foreign companies or freelance representatives for overseas charities. Typically they are offered commission of 10 per cent for forwarding the money to the fraudsters.

One advert, purporting to be from a Polish charity helping children in Central Europe, promised a salary of €1,500-€3,500 a week for two to three hours work a day.

The mules get caught because of the audit trail to their accounts, but by then they have usually forwarded the money to the fraudsters.

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