Money Conversion

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South Africans are increasingly being targeted by international crime syndicates to be "money mules," the SA Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) said on Monday... read more below

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South Africans used as 'money mules'

found July 30 2007 at iol.co.za

South Africans are increasingly being targeted by international crime syndicates to be "money mules," the SA Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) said on Monday.

"There are increased reports of attempts to recruit South Africans to act as money mules," said Sabric's Susan Potgieter.

A money mule or e-mule is someone who is tricked into using his bank account to launder money.

A fraudster steals personal information which they use to transfer money out of the victim's account into that of the money mule.

The mules are then are instructed to withdraw the money and send it overseas using a money-remitting (moneygram transfer) service, minus a certain commission.

"Although the prospect of making some easy money may appear attractive, any 'commission' payments will be recovered as they are the proceeds of fraud and the person [mule] may become embroiled in a police investigation," Potgieter said, adding that money laundering was a crime punishable with severe penalties including imprisonment.

Even if the mule is not guilty of theft, by allowing one's bank account to be used to receive and transfer funds, one is acting illegally and can be held liable to repay funds channelled through one's account.

Money mules are recruited through spam emails, adverts on genuine recruitment websites, and instant messaging.

Potgieter urged people to be cautious about unsolicited offers or opportunities of making some easy money, especially if it entails giving out banking details or making one's bank account available to receive funds.

She said adverts for money mules looked as if they were placed by reputable companies, sometimes copying a genuine company's website.

"The ads then state that they are looking for 'SA representatives' or 'agents' to act on their behalf for a period of time."

The advert may be written in poor English with grammatical and spelling mistakes, and the commission offered was generally good.

Potgieter could not supply the numbers of arrests made but said the scam was prevalent enough for Sabric to warn the public. - Sapa

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