Money muling: A downward spiral to avoid

Money muling might be another foreign term fairly few are acquainted with. But, if we were to talk about money laundering, now that’s a term most of us have stumbled upon before. In truth, both terms are correlated, because muling is a form of money laundering. And in case you didn’t know, we’re all subjected to it and if we’re not being careful enough, we might find ourselves in quite a pickle.

To avoid getting sucked into this downward spiral, here’s all you need to know about money muling along with the ways to avoid it.

Money muling explained

In the simplest of terms, a money mule is someone who transfers illegally acquired money on behalf of someone else. This typically happens when scammers steal money via various means like phishing or cyber fraud, for example, and they proceed by recruiting someone to transfer or move the money into another account in exchange for a specific sum.

Unfortunately, most money mules are not aware that what they’re doing is illegal — they’re tricked into believing that they’re performing a legal money transfer and are being compensated for their services.

Money muling exposure

Fraudsters reach out to oblivious users via emails, fake job postings, or blog posts, which encourage people to “make money fast.” These false pretenses lure those who show an interest and require them to perform a wire transfer in exchange for an attractive commission. Because money muling is a foreign concept to many, the people who undergo such transfers fail to realize that they’re taking part in illegal business activities.

What happens next?

Once these people disclose their bank details, the money will be transferred to their accounts. Then, they will be asked to wire the money — minus the commission they were promised — to another account, typically overseas. And the chain goes on and on until the money reaches the fraudster’s account.

Unknowingly, these people just participated in an illegal money laundering activity, consequently becoming what is called a money mule. The underside of this activity is that their bank accounts will be traced, and they will face serious repercussions.

How to avoid it?

There are several ways to protect yourself from money muling, and awareness may as well be at the very top. Other things you can do to avoid being part of such a scam is:

• To make sure to never respond to suspicious emails that request your bank details
• Not to disclose your information to attractive job offers overseas unless you are sure of the source
• And not to get carried away by attractive offers that claim easy ways to make money fast

Protect your banking information and never disclose it if you’re unsure of the source asking for it. Most importantly, make sure to investigate websites, emails, and sources before supplying your details to protect yourself from money muling.

Always remember that the bank will never ask for sensitive information such as your card number, PIN code, one-time password (OTP) or CVV over email, or social media.