MORE than a dozen students have signed up to help keep people safe at university as part of a new North Yorkshire Police scheme.

Fourteen freshers at the Scarborough campus of Coventry University signed up to become Student Crime Prevention Champions.

As volunteers, they will take part in crime prevention initiatives and campaigns alongside police, with their first project dealing with raising awareness on ‘money mules’, where a ‘mule’ allows their bank account to be used by others to transfer money in and out, and in return, keep some of the money for themselves.

Police said fraudsters often use fake job adverts, or create social media posts about opportunities to make money quickly, to lure potential ‘mules’, and the volunteers will urge fellow students never to compromise their own accounts, to be wary of job offers from people or companies overseas, and never to give financial details to someone they do not know and trust.

Natasha Almond, Citizens in Policing coordinator manager at North Yorkshire Police, said the scheme could be rolled out to other universities in North Yorkshire.

She said: "Students can become victims of crime like anyone else – so as the new academic year gets underway, this is a great opportunity to help students stay safe.

"Living away from home for the first time can be quite a culture shock, so it’s really important that students have access to crime prevention advice. This new initiative means they can get this vital information from their peers, as well as from the police, while at the same time giving our student volunteers a valuable insight into police issues."