The market for second-hand wedding dresses is growing rapidly as bargain-hungry brides seek out designer labels at knock-down prices.
But this burgeoning industry is also attracting the interest of criminals who are either looking to launder money – or trick sellers into giving out key bank details so their accounts can be emptied.
One bride told The Mail on Sunday she recently gave up trying to sell her wedding dress online because she was being contacted only by bogus buyers.
She says a number of individuals offered to pay the asking price for her dress, plus an inflated fee to cover 'courier' costs.
They then wanted her to transfer this 'extra' money she received into another account from which she was told the courier costs would be met.
Such a tactic is employed by criminals to launder money because it disguises the original ownership of the cash.
