A “money mule” is someone who transports stolen money between countries.
They are sometimes unwittingly recruited by criminals to transfer illegally obtained money between bank accounts.
They receive the stolen funds in their account and are instructed to withdraw the funds and wire the funds to a different account, often one in another country, while keeping some of the money for themselves.
Even if you are unaware that the money you are transferring was obtained illegally, you have played a significant role in fraud and money laundering and can be prosecuted.
To attract potential money mule recruits, criminals will frequently use fake job advertisements or create social media posts about opportunities to make money quickly.
Here are some of the things that can put you at risk of becoming a money mule:
Responding to job advertisements or social media posts that promise large sums of money for very little work; failing to research a potential employer, particularly one based overseas, before giving them your personal or financial information; and allowing an employer, or someone you don’t know and trust, to use your bank account to transfer money.
And, most importantly, here’s how to protect yourself:
No legitimate company will ever request that you use your own bank account to transfer money to them. Accept no job offers that ask you to do this, and be especially wary of job offers from people or companies in other countries, as it will be more difficult to determine whether they are legitimate.
Never give out your financial information to anyone you don’t know and trust.
