One in five Brits claim they have been approached to help illegally launder money, research has found.
A poll of 2,000 adults revealed 21 per cent have been asked to receive funds to their bank, apply for a loan in someone else’s name, or open a new account, all in exchange for cash.
Yet, a third of adults have never heard of the term ‘money mule’, which describes someone who carries out these actions in a money laundering process, and 21 per cent only had a vague understanding, according to research by Virgin Money [https://uk.virginmoney.com/fraud-and-security/].
Money mule recruiters often use social media to target teenagers, students, vulnerable people, asylum seekers, and those who are on lower incomes or new to the country.
Expert Jamie Wolff, from Virgin Money, explained how becoming a money mule has a devastating impact on individuals, and wider society: “This is not a sneaky way to make a few quid and then get a telling off if you get caught; this is serious business and can have huge consequences.”
A poll of 2,000 adults revealed 21 per cent have been asked to receive funds to their bank, apply for a loan in someone else’s name, or open a new account, all in exchange for cash.
Yet, a third of adults have never heard of the term ‘money mule’, which describes someone who carries out these actions in a money laundering process, and 21 per cent only had a vague understanding, according to research by Virgin Money [https://uk.virginmoney.com/fraud-and-security/].
Money mule recruiters often use social media to target teenagers, students, vulnerable people, asylum seekers, and those who are on lower incomes or new to the country.
Expert Jamie Wolff, from Virgin Money, explained how becoming a money mule has a devastating impact on individuals, and wider society: “This is not a sneaky way to make a few quid and then get a telling off if you get caught; this is serious business and can have huge consequences.”
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00:00One in five Brits have claimed that they've been approached to help illegally launder money.
00:07It's a serious issue and it's something that could be easy to fall for.
00:10So you need to know what to look out for to protect yourself from devastating consequences.
00:17A money mule is somebody that is approached by criminals normally online to launder funds through their account.
00:24Criminals use money mules as it makes the money hard to trace
00:27and it also makes it trickier for the authorities to catch the criminals involved.
00:32Well unfortunately anyone could be used as a money mule under the age of 35 as the prime target
00:36and that sort of correlates with the rise in social media platform usage for the recruitment of money mules.
00:42Some of the things to look out for is if you're approached online or in person with requests and job offers
00:48to remove large volumes and high values of money with the promise of doing very little work and taking a cut for doing so.
00:55Other things to look out for are too good to be true opportunities that are broached to you by either friends, family,
01:02somebody in university or new romantic partners.
01:05The impact of money mules on society is devastating.
01:10The fact that money mules now can be targeted and recruited online means that there's a wider spread for anybody to be a victim of this.
01:17Scams, fraud, sex trafficking, human trafficking and all other heinous crimes.
01:23The money mule themself is a victim.
01:25If you're approached it's important that you don't engage or share any personal details with the person contacting you.
01:31Whether you are approached online or in person you should either report this to the social media outlet or the email provider
01:39or the police to give them the full details of who is trying to recruit you.
01:43Educate yourself and others around you.
01:45It's really important that we raise the awareness so everybody knows what to look out for so we don't all become victims.
01:52For more tips on how to protect yourself visit the Virgin Money website.