Three more arrests over phishing scam targeted students

Three more people have been arrested in connection to a long-running £1million phishing scam that drained the bank accounts of hundreds of UK students.

Two men have already been jailed for their part in the fraud, while two more are due to stand trial this year.

The investigation dates back to August 2011, when Metropolitan Police officers were alerted to a criminal network who were contacting students on the Government loan scheme and asking them to update their bank account details on a bogus website.

The fraudsters then withdraw up to £5,000 from the accounts at a time, Scotland Yard said.

On Wednesday and yesterday Metropolitan Police officers, supported by the UK Border Agency and Greater Manchester Police, raided homes in Manchester, seizing documents and computer equipment.

A 28-year-old man and a 33-year-old men were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering, and a 30-year-old man on suspicion of handling stolen goods.

All three have been released on bail.

The investigation team has arranged for the restraining of several bank accounts believed to have been used to launder stolen money.

A fourth man was detained by the UKBA for illegal entry. A woman was also detained as an over-stayer.

Last year Damola Clement Olatunji, 26, from Manchester, was jailed for six years and six months for admitting two offences of conspiracy and a money laundering offence.

Amos Njoroge Mwangi, 25, from Deptford, London, was jailed for three years and three months after pleading guilty to two fraud offences.

Two men and a woman arrested in 2011 were released without action.

PA