A STUDENT was left feeling “embarrassed” and “stupid” after being duped into becoming a money mule.

Hannah Orange was desperate to support herself while studying but her job hunt was fruitless even after applying for scores of positions.

When the second-year Northbrook College student received an email offering her a “dream job”, she seized the chance to become a data inputter for Aldrich Accounting Action, a company purporting to be based in New York.

But despite investigating the company’s website and speaking to a female representative on a London area code phone number, the 20-year-old from Worthing became the unwitting victim of a money laundering scam.

Her training for the role involved visiting a Western Union money transfer outlet near Churchill Square in Brighton and forwarding £1,710 to another bank account – which was later revealed to be in Ukraine.

Once the transaction was successful, another £950 appeared in her bank account to send on but was declined by a post office in Worthing.

The company sent her a further £1,500 regardless and told her to try again with Western Union.

It was at this point the music, business and management student realised she was embroiled in a con.

She said: “The company looked legitimate. I had searched absolutely everywhere for a job and I wanted to gain experience in accounting so this job looked amazing.

“But I was on campus when I suddenly realised they were using me for money laundering.

“I went straight to the pastoral care team who helped me report it to the police.

“I felt embarrassed and so stupid. I cannot believe I did not figure it out sooner.

“The police told me this happens a lot and often to intelligent people. The worst part is I turned down a job in a call centre for that company. Thankfully, I have another job now.”

A 21-year-old man from Chichester also fell foul of the scam after accepting an online job supposedly from a promotions company in Florida and forwarded £3,400 to an account in Turkey before his bank became suspicious.

Detective inspector Till Sanderson, of the Sussex Police economic crime unit, warned people to beware of scams, and said fraudsters were deliberately targeting youngsters struggling to get a job.

How to avoid falling victim to scam firms

1 Never give your bank account details to anyone unless you know and trust them.

2 The nature of the work the company will claim to be involved in can vary, but the specifics of the job being advertised invariably mean using your bank account to move money.

3 The advert may be written in poor English with grammatical and spelling mistakes.

4 If you have already disclosed your bank account details or received money into your account and you think it could be a money mule scam, contact your bank immediately.

5 To report a fraud and receive a police crime reference number, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.