Imposture (DI Gardener 6)

“It was the bitcoins that finally gave them away,” said Shona Pearson.

“Yes,” said Gardener, “DI Winter said something about that. He reckoned if you were good enough you could follow the trails.”

“Winter’s team have,” said Rawson. “They’ve been at this longer than we have and they’ve been concentrating on a series of online scams, which is what DPA have been doing from the beginning.”

“That’s what made them the money and gave them the confidence to go large,” said Gates.

“Okay,” said Gardener, “let’s have it.”

“They all had a scam of their own,” said Longstaff, picking up one of the files. “Let’s start with Zoe Harrison, the romance mule.”

“The what?” Reilly asked.

“Romance mules usually fall prey to romance scams, which are all online. They’re deceitful romantic interactions with unsuspecting victims. These fraudsters work to gain the trust and affection of mules. They then use that relationship to commit fraud. The majority of the time, the victims haven’t a clue they’re involved in a fraud scheme, or a criminal act, until it is too late.

“Zoe Harrison created fake profiles using stolen photographs and false names on a number of dating websites, social media sites, blog forums, and support groups. She worked a number of victims all at the same time, beginning with contact. Almost immediately she went into private chat rooms and used emails or chat sessions to gain their confidence.”

Gardener sighed, shaking his head.

“What’s wrong?” Rawson asked.

“Who else do we know that did all of this?”

“Robbie bloody Carter,” said Reilly.

“It’s obviously a bigger market than we thought,” said Gardener. He nodded to Longstaff. “Carry on.”

“She usually took three months to form the relationships,” said Longstaff. She acted as if she was in love with them, creating a bond, sharing life stories. She made sure there was a decent distance between them all. In one case she forged a relationship, despite claiming she lived in Eastern Europe. She promised to visit as soon as she could. Once she’d gained their trust, she asked them to receive and transfer money on her behalf.”

“How did she manage that?” asked Colin Sharp.

“She used a variety of excuses,” said Gates. “Experiencing banking-wire issues due to a foreign account, claiming she needed money to pay for a family member’s funeral. Or she claimed she was in the middle of a divorce and needed some assistance pawning jewellery, and having the funds sent through Western Union. In one case, the jewellery the woman received was stolen from fraudulent online auctions, and she unknowingly became a mule in Zoe’s scheme.

“In another she claimed to be military personnel stationed overseas who needed assistance accessing their funds due to being in a war zone. She tricked a fifty-year-old man called Christopher Barlow in the West Midlands into allowing his personal bank account to receive and send money as part of a scheme to finance terrorists.”

“Terrorists?” shouted Reilly.

“I know,” said Rawson, “takes some believing, doesn’t it?”

Reilly shook his head in disbelief.

“According to a leading newspaper, the victim believed he was corresponding with an affluent businesswoman in her early forties whom he met on an online dating site. The woman claimed she needed to pay some of her employees in the UK, and would only trust payments coming from a UK bank account. Once Barlow agreed, she began to wire large sums of money into his account and he would prepare and send cheques on her behalf. He was eventually charged with a criminal offence because he did not report the illicit incident to the police. There are literally hundreds of instances that Winter’s team believe she was involved in but we don’t have all night.”

“Okay,” said Briggs, “take us quickly through what the others were involved in, otherwise we’ll be here till Christmas.”

Pearson took up the conversation. “Michael Foreman was involved in a WFH scheme. Work-from-home schemes are fake job offers that are used by fraudsters and mule herders, to entice witting or unwitting individuals into providing bank account details for the purpose of receiving an Automated Clearing House deposit or counterfeit cheque. They are then instructed to electronically transfer funds to a third party, often in another country.

“Mules are also told to make transfers to the third parties through a money-service business, such as Western Union. Occasionally, mules will deliver cash in person to representatives of the crime group. This type of transfer usually involves a mule who is a willing participant in the illegal scheme.”

No one interrupted. It was late, they were tired, and Gardener felt it best if he simply let his team say what they had to, and then try to deal with the aftermath.

Pearson continued, “WFH offers are usually cleverly created to look like legitimate companies. Sometimes they use recognisable trademarks, or logos, or names to create apparent legitimacy. Fraudsters often use a variety of methods for potential victims such as spam emails, job search sites and online classifieds or social media.

“The job application process for some opportunities even requires applicants to be interviewed by a company representative, and maybe even sign an employment contract. Individuals who succumb to these types of fraudulent job offers are often financially distressed due to extended unemployment or other financial hardship.

“Even though the job offers will seem suspicious to many, those who feel they don’t have anything to lose will give it a try. Unfortunately for them, most mules are only used once and will never see a commission. There is also a significant chance of being arrested and being a victim of identity theft later on, because the fraudsters have all the personally identifiable information they need, such as the mule’s national insurance number.

“Here’s an example: a woman was on Indeed looking for a job when she found a WFH administrative assistant opportunity. She applied for the job, and that’s when things took a strange turn. She hadn’t even accepted the position when a package containing a cheque for £3,450 arrived at her door. Along with the cheque, the envelope contained detailed instructions to deposit the cheque into her personal bank account, keep £400 for herself and send the rest via two separate MoneyGrams to different individuals in West Africa. She realised it was fraud and reported it.”