Don’t become a ‘money mule’
Scams come in all shapes and sizes, and while we talk a lot about themes, like romance scams, and red flags to look for, such as requests for wire transfers, we don’t talk much about how the scammers get away with your money free and clear. It is a lucrative business, and the FBI has shared some telling information about how victims may actually be helping these con artists wash their stolen money.
A money mule is any person who “moves illegally acquired money on behalf of someone else.” While some money mules may be in on the ploy, scammers have also found ways to incorporate this money laundering scheme right into their original scam, making their targets into accomplices.
These money laundering schemes are used to wash the proceeds from a variety of crimes. Some of them maybe be the online scams that we are, by now, very familiar with like romance or work from home scams, but others may be money earned from crimes like human trafficking or drug trafficking. Money mules make it harder for law enforcement to track and trace funds because they put a layer of distance between the criminals and the victims of their crimes.
The most unfortunate part, especially for unsuspecting, already victims is that, according to the FBI, “acting as a money mule is illegal and punishable, even if you aren’t aware you’re committing a crime.” Whether it’s complicit or not, anyone caught acting as a money mule could be on the hook for federal charges such as mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, or aggravated identity theft. You may even be responsible for paying back any other victims who lost money in the related scam. Not to mention, your personal financial information and credit are at stake too. So, to keep salt out of an already open wound, beware of these warning signs that could mean you are about to get roped into a plan you surely want no part in:
• Promises of easy money, especially which come unsolicited via email or social media,
• Requests from anyone asking you to receive and then send money from a bank account you’ve been asked to open in your own name,
• Requests to receive funds in your already established bank account, then to make a wire transfer or send money via an electronic payment system, especially when you are offered to keep a percentage of the money received for your participation,
• Too good to be true, lucrative, job offers from “employers” with free web based email addresses like Gmail, Hotmail, or Outlook, and
• Requests to receive money from an online companion or love interest, whom you’ve never met in person, and then to forward the funds to someone else you do not know.
If you suspect you have been or are being used a money mule, stop all communication and money transfers immediately and notify the bank or service you used to transfer the funds as well as law enforcement. It will be helpful to law enforcement to keep any receipts or records of transactions and communications. Any suspicious activity can be reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov or a local FBI field office.