- An individual contacted clubs claiming to be a sporting director at HJK Helsinki
- The scammer then asked the club to pay for a medical – which raised suspicion
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Why it makes more sense for Manchester United to sell Marcus Rashford
EFL clubs have been targeted by an elaborate scammer – who made a big transfer ‘offer’ for a player before attempting to extort cash.
Mail Sport understands an alert was sent to all 72 clubs on Monday morning after officials at one raised the alarm.
The side in question were contacted by an individual who claimed to be a sporting director at HJK Helsinki. They made a ‘substantial’ bid for one of the club’s players via an agent and then directly. They then requested the club pay for a medical – which triggered suspicion.
A call was made to HJK Helsinki who confirmed the enquiry was bogus and added that they had notified police after being informed of numerous attempts, with Monday being deadline day in their country.
While one club notified the EFL, it is thought as many as 20 were targeted.
An alert sent to clubs read: ‘We have been made aware this morning that an EFL club has been the subject of an attempted scam by an individual purporting to be Sporting Director of Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi/ HJK Helsinki.
EFL clubs have been targeted by an elaborate scammer claiming to be a sporting director
A call was made to Finnish outfit HJK Helsinki (pictured in blue and white against Malmo in the UEFA Champions League qualifying round in 2021), who confirmed the enquiry was bogus
Back in September, Mail Sport revealed how cyber attackers had managed to breach the systems of two Championship outfits – Bristol City and Sheffield Wednesday (above)
‘The individual made a substantial transfer offer for one of the club’s players via an agent then directly to the club. They then requested the club pay for a medical for the player – at which point suspicion was aroused.
‘The club involved identified this as a scam and contacted HJK Helsinki directly, who confirmed they’ve had numerous reports of this today (it’s their transfer deadline day) and that they had notified police.’
The mobile number and email address given by the individual were also included.
One exec at an EFL club which was not among those targeted on this occasion said such attempts were ‘rife’. ‘It’s happening all the time,’ they added. ‘You have to be alert across the business.’
In September, Mail Sport revealed how cyber attackers had managed to breach the systems of Bristol City and Sheffield Wednesday, hunting for the personal data of season ticket holders.
External agencies were brought in to deal with the issue, and the EFL swiftly sent an alert to all clubs warning them not to open emails from Bristol Sport chief financial officer Vicki Long.
