How this page can help you
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Social media ads
One of the most common ways criminals get people to become money mules is via adverts online and on social media. Mule recruiters advertise ways to get rich quickly by using pictures of luxury lifestyles and bank accounts with high balances. If you reply they might ask you to receive a payment, hold on to it for a while, then pay it on to a different person and keep some of the money for yourself. They might also ask you to hand over all the login details for your account so they can use it temporarily.
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Fake investment schemes
If you’ve searched for investment opportunities online and someone has offered to pay you a ‘start-up fee’ to receive and move money on as part of the deal, this could be a lie to get you to act as a money mule. Investments that promise to make you a lot of money when you’ve only put a small amount in can sound tempting, but this is one way criminals disguise money muling.
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Romance scams
Romance scams occur when a criminal uses a fake online profile to form a relationship with you. If a love interest has asked you to help them move money this could be a crime, no matter the reason they’ve given you. They might say they’re in another country for work and will get in trouble if they can’t complete their business deal, or they urgently need your help to move money for medical expenses or a time limited investment. There’ll always be a reason why they can’t make the payments themselves.
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Rent an account
Asking you to rent out the use of your existing account or that ask you to open a new account for someone else to use is another way that money mule recruiters work. They might ask you to clear out any of your own money and hand over full control of your account to them, including your online banking, cards, and contact details. They’ll say that you can take back control of your account at any time it’s all safe to do, but this isn’t true.
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Fake job ads
Mule recruiters can target job seekers by offering roles that are too good to be true. Fake adverts are sometimes posted on social media and job websites offering quick and easy ways to make cash. They might ask you to use your own account to process payments for them. However ok they try to make it seem; this is a crime.
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Fake loan schemes
Adverts offering you a quick and cheap loan could be trying to get you to act as a mule, especially if they promise to give you a loan no matter your financial history. They might overpay you and say it was an accident, then ask you to send the overpayment to an account that’s different to the one that sent you the loan originally. Or they might say you need to boost your credit score to get the loan, and to do so you can receive money into your account and move it on.
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How to protect yourself
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01
Never accept a payment from someone you don’t know or trust, or when you don’t know where the money is from
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02
Don’t apply for or accept job offers that ask you to move money through your own accounts
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Never give your account details to someone you don’t know
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Talk to friends and family, especially young people, to help them spot the signs too