Two men have appeared in court charged over a £1 million phishing scam that drained the bank accounts of hundreds of UK students.
Amos Mwangi, 25, of Rochdale Way, Deptford, south London, and Damola Olatunji, 26, of Hamsterley Avenue, Manchester, were remanded in custody at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Scotland Yard said.
They will appear next at Southwark Crown Court on February 17, a spokesman added.
Both are accused of conspiracy to defraud, and Olatunji is also charged with possession of an article for use in fraud.
Five other people have been bailed until March pending further inquiries.
Scotland Yard has said a criminal network targeted students on government loan schemes, luring them into revealing their bank account details which were then used to withdraw amounts of between £1,000 and £5,000 at a time.
The five bailed include a 25-year-old woman arrested in Manchester, a 49-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man arrested in Stratford, north-east London, and a 38-year-old man arrested in Bolton, Lancashire.
They were all arrested on Thursday on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and Computer Misuse Act and money laundering offences.
A second man, aged 35, was arrested in Bolton early on Friday on suspicion of the same offences.
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