Scammers basically try to use you for stealing money. So, it is essential that you are not helping them. If you do so, you will be called a money mule.
Money Mule Scam can happen in different ways. It can be related to online dating, work-at-home jobs, or prizes. Scammers sometimes pay people by check. After that, scammers ask them to send some of this to another person. They want people to use gift cards or wire transfers. Obviously, they will not tell you that the money is stolen. They will lie about the reason for sending it. Remember that it is only a scam, not a relationship, job, or prize.
What is a money mule?
A money mule indicates a person who is responsible for receiving and moving money that is coming from victims. While a few money mules know that they are assisting in criminal activity, a few money mules don't know that their activities are helping fraudsters. Suppose, a person whom you don't know sends you money. Then he or she asks you to forward or transfer the money. Then you are fueling the fraud and serving as a money mule.
How does money mule scam work?
Money mules come from online job sites, dating sites, social networking sites, online classifieds, and Dark Web Forums. Once a criminal recruiter gains your trust or the victim whose money is acquired, they entice you by offering jobs or setting up a fake relationship. Their task is to convince you to open a new bank account or any existing personal account to receive money sent by criminals. After that, criminals send money to the account where the money will be deposited. They give exact details related to the fund transfer. Sometimes they tell you to withdraw money as cash, use it to purchase a gift card, or convert it to virtual currency, such as Bitcoin.
What Are the Consequences?
Money mule scams can affect your financial future, resulting in incarceration. Money mules can charge the following:
- Mail fraud
- Wire fraud
- Bank fraud
- Money laundering
- Aggravated identity theft
Engaging in these activities can allow criminals to steal your personal information and use these illegally. If someone is caught acting as a money mule, they must repay the acquired money. It can also result in frozen assets, damage to the credit score, etc.
Who is at Risk?
Usually, the target of criminals is students who are searching for work or those who are on dating websites.
What Are the Signs?
These are the signs:
Work-from-Home Job Opportunities:
- You receive an unsolicited email that offers easy money without any effort.
- Unknown people tell you to open a bank account online in your name.
- Being an employee, you are said to get the money in your bank account.
- There is no particular job description for your duties.
Dating & Social Media Sites:-
- Online contacts or someone you never met tells you to receive money & forward the funds to others.
Protect Yourself:-
- Search on the web to check if the job offering company is legal.
- Never go with any job offer asking you to transfer money from your bank account. Legitimate companies never tell you to do this.
- Be aware if someone on the internet wants to use your bank account to receive money.
- Ensure that you don't give your financial details to those people who are unknown (mainly to online strangers).
How to avoid it?
These are some tips that you need to follow to prevent yourself from being a money mule:
- You must not agree to send money to someone whom you don't know or receive it.
- Never take those jobs offering money easily.
- Never open a bank account or cryptocurrency account based on another's direction.
- Despite receiving money first, you should not send money to any online love interest.
- Never spend money on getting a prize.
- You must not open any links in emails sent from an untrusted source.
- Banks don't call people or send SMS to get personal details such as Account Details, Passwords, or OTP.
- Never share the Net Banking credentials with others.
What to do if you find yourself involved in a money mule scam?
When you transfer money on behalf of others, criminals can get huge advantages, even you can lose money or be put in Jail. If you find yourself involved in a money mule scam, you can do these things following:
- You should not communicate with those asking you to move money or property.
- Inform your financial institution and ask them to change accounts.
- You need to report it to local law enforcement and at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
- International crime networks use money mules to steal money from businesses. That's why people like you must stay alert and notice the warning signs.
Conclusion:
During the COVID pandemic, the online bank scams increased in the United States. So, you need to be informed and protect your personal information. You should not share your bank accounts with online acquaintances.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. How does a money mule scam work?
When a money mule transfers acquired money illegally on behalf of others, it is called a money mule scam.
Q. What is a money mule romance scam?
It is a scam where vulnerable adults receive money from unknown people or those who have gained their trust.
Q. Can a money mule go to jail?
If any money mule is caught moving stolen funds, they will be put into jail, even for this crime, they can get a 14 years prison sentence.
