Don't be fooled into becoming a money mule

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Offers of easy money are nothing but attempts to enroll money mules to launder ill-gotten wealth

By Saiyid Safdar Abbas Zaidi

The next time you are offered a handsome income for easy work or an attractive commission on a banking transaction, don't fall for the bait. You could become an unwitting accomplice in a sophisticated financial crime. Criminal syndicates are forever searching for people whose bank accounts can be used to launder their ill-gotten money. Their target: low-income earners looking to supplement their income, students wanting to earn pocket money and retirees and housewives not conversant with the new tricks of the financial underworld.

Known as money mules, these people are lured by work-from-home job offers, lucrative commissions and freelancing opportunities through e-mails, media ads and job portals. The fraudsters ask for bank details and transfer money into the person's bank account. He is offered a hefty commission which can be as high as XX% of the transferred amount. 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 criminal's account.

The victim does not suspect anything because there is very little money of his own in the account and he earns a fat commission by doing virtually nothing. In reality, the criminals used his bank as a transit account so that their own financial footprint was not visible. Money mulling is illegal and one can get into big trouble if caught. In most cases, the money being transferred is illegal so the money mule is guilty of collaborating with criminals. One can't get away even if one is an innocent accomplice in the racket because ignorance is not a defense.

Experts say that the lure of big money causes money mules to turn a blind eye to the risks and the illegality of the deal. If someone is offered 2-3% of a large sum running into thousands of dollars for just lending his bank account, he may not want to consider the pitfalls of the arrangement. But sophisticated financial forensics can trace the money mules and bring them to book. Their bank accounts get suspended, their credit scores fall off the cliff and they can even be put in jail for collaborating in criminal activity.

How can one avoid becoming a money mule?

Most banks have posted anti-fraud guidelines for customers. Here are a few basic precautions one should take. Do not respond to emails asking for your bank account details. Verify the background of a company that offers a job. Don't just go by the mobile number. Check the landline number, postal address, email ID and website of the company.

Be especially wary of overseas job offers: it will be harder to find out if they are legitimate. Avoid companies and individuals asking to carry out international transactions for them using your bank account. Don?t get carried away by attractive offers/commissions or consent to receive unauthorized money.

Be very cautious of opportunities to make easy money. Also, advertisements written in poor English with grammatical errors and spelling mistakes is an obvious red flag. Money mule advertisements can be in different forms and may even clone a genuine company's website to make the scam seem authentic. They seek an "-Indian representatives" or "agents" to act on their behalf to avoid high transaction charges or local taxes. In reality they are seeking a money mule to launder money.