Chelsea, City and Liverpool caught up in 'fake agent' scam

Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool are among the unwilling victims caught up in a criminal plot to swindle up-and-coming young footballers out of thousands of pounds, according to a new investigation.

The International Centre for Sports Security uncovered large-scale wrongdoing across the world, with teenage hopefuls paying thousands of pounds to fake agents and scouts promising trials with some of the Premier League's most prestigious clubs.

However, the clubs in question have absolutely no idea that the claims are being made erroneously on their behalf.

Promising young footballers from Spain, Australia and Africa have been contacted by the criminals, often via social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, where young players commonly post highlights videos of themselves. The fake scouts tell them they've been impressed by what they've seen, and offer the youngster a chance to earn a deal with a top club.

The players and their parents are asked for £500 up front to cover the costs of admin and relevant visas. On receipt of the cash, the swindlers then asked for a further £2,500 to pay for travel, medical fees and insurance.

David Beckham's former club LA Galaxy are another club caught up in the scam, while the ICSS also mentioned Sunderland, Hull City and Stoke as other destinations in addition to City, Chelsea and Liverpool.

At least one instance led to a 16-year-old turning up unaccompanied at Manchester Airport, expecting to be met by a representative of a club who had no idea he even existed, according to the report.

ICSS investigators have followed the trail of dirty money raked in by the scammers, which has so far led them to further enquires in England, America and Ukraine.

The investigators issued a warning to any young players who receive a too-good-to-be-true offer:

"If players have any doubts they should contact the relevant clubs, check their official websites for contact details and phone them direct," they said in a statement.

"Clubs will not contact you via Facebook, Linked In, Twitter. They are not likely to use Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo email accounts. If they contact you it will only be by using their official email."