MSB Blog

When it comes to scams, it is easy to think it will not happen to you. However, scammers are manipulative and often convincing, sometimes making people become unknowingly involved in illegal situations – such as becoming a money mule. 

What is a money mule scam?

A money mule is a person who is involved in illegal money exchanges or transfers that usually benefit another person, but could also benefit a group of people like a gang. Criminals will look for people to move illegally acquired money around for them in order to distance themselves from the original source of money. The money is usually coming from illegal activities, such as the sale of drugs or human trafficking. 

Since most people do not want to be involved in criminal activity, scammers will trick victims into being money mules. Some people do knowingly transfer money around for criminals in return for a payout, but many are victims who are not even aware that they are a money mule. Some of the most common money mule scams that occur without the victim’s knowledge are scams related to working from home, cash prizes, and online dating.

How can you avoid unknowingly getting involved in a money mule scam?

• Do not accept a “work-from-home” job that requires you to do very little work. If the main task that your position requires of you is to simply transfer money to “clients” or “distributors” via your own bank account or a bank account your supervisor requests you to open in the business’ name, then it is probably a money mule scam. 

Other red flags with “work-from-home” jobs are: 

• • Never meeting or speaking on the phone with your interviewer or supervisor. They only communicate with you through email, text messages, on instant messenger.
  • Your pay is keeping a portion of money that you are asked to transfer.
  • The email communications you receive are generic and do not include an official company letterhead.
  • Your co-workers’ and supervisor’s email addresses end in @gmail.com, @yahoo.com, etc. Legitimate businesses create email servers for their company, such as @monsonsavings.com.  
  • If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  

• Cash prize money mule scams are very deceptive. The scammer will send out a communication saying you’ve won money, but in order to claim the money, you have to send money. This is just a trick to get you to move money around. 

More red flags for a money mule scam disguised as a cash prize:

• • Winning money in a lottery or competition you never participated in.
  • The communication stating that you’ve won money contains spelling and grammatical errors.
  • The communication is coming from a group you’ve never heard of.

• Online dating money mule scams can be a little trickier to spot compared to work-from-home or cash prize money mule scams. This is because the criminal you are communicating with will spend a significant amount of time earning your trust and affection. A very common way that criminals will trick victims into moving money with online dating is sending them money then asking them to send it back to them. Often times the victim is asked to send the money back in a different way than it was received, for example if they were sent a check they may be asked to deposit it then wire the money back. 

Other red flags associated with online dating are:

• • Never meeting the person you are dating
  • The person you are dating claims to live very far away from you.
  • The person you are dating sends you money to send to their “family” or “friends.”

What should you do if you spot a money mule scam?

• Report the money mule scam to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov/

What should you do if you realize you are already involved in a money mule scam?

• Cease all contact and activity immediately  
• Try to retain any evidence, like receipts, emails, text messages, contact info. etc.
• Notify your bank 
• Notify any financial services you may have used to transfer money, like Western Union, CashApp, PayPal, or gift card companies.
• Notify law enforcement.
• Report the money mule scam to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov/

At Monson Savings Bank, we want to provide you with the tools and knowledge to help keep you and your money safe and protected. Learn more about ways to protect yourself through our Safety and Security blog category.