Modus Operandi

•Money Mule is a term used to describe innocent victims who are duped by fraudsters into laundering stolen / illegal money via their bank account/s.

•Fraudsters contact customers via emails, social media, etc., and convince them to receive money into their bank accounts (money mule), in exchange for attractive commissions.

•The money mule is then directed to transfer the money to another money mule’s account, starting a chain that ultimately results in the money getting transferred to the fraudster’s account.

•Alternatively, the fraudster may direct the money mule to withdraw cash and hand it over to someone.

•When such frauds are reported, the money mule becomes the target of police investigation for money laundering.

Precautions

•Do not allow others to use your account to receive or transfer money for a fee / payment.

•Do not respond to emails asking for your bank account details.

•Do not get carried away by attractive offers / commissions and give consent to receive unauthorized money and to transfer them to others or withdraw cash and give it out for a handsome fee.

•If the source of funds is not genuine, or the rationale for underlying transaction is not proved to authorities, the receiver of money is likely to land in serious trouble with police and other law enforcement agencies