Money Mules

Don't Exist a Mule: Awareness Can Forestall Offense

What Is a Coin Mule?

A money mule is someone who transfers or moves illegally acquired money on behalf of someone else.

Criminals recruit money mules to help launder proceeds derived from online scams and frauds or crimes like human trafficking and drug trafficking. Money mules add layers of distance between crime victims and criminals, which makes it harder for police force enforcement to accurately trace coin trails.

Money mules can motion funds in diverse means, including through banking company accounts, cashier's checks, virtual currency, prepaid debit cards, or money service businesses.

Some coin mules know they are supporting criminal enterprises; others are unaware that they are helping criminals profit.

Coin mules frequently receive a commission for their service, or they might provide assistance because they believe they have a trusting or romantic relationship with the individual who is asking for help.

If you are moving money at the direction of another person, you may be serving as a coin mule.

What Are the Consequences?

Acting as a coin mule is illegal and punishable, fifty-fifty if y'all aren't enlightened you're committing a criminal offence.

If you are a money mule, you could be prosecuted and incarcerated as part of a criminal money laundering conspiracy. Some of the federal charges you lot could face up include mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft.

Serving as a coin mule tin can also damage your credit and financial continuing. Additionally, you risk having your ain personally identifiable information stolen and used by the criminals yous are working for, and yous may be held personally liable for repaying money lost past victims.

Who Is at Take a chance?

Criminals oft target students, those looking for work, or those on dating websites, but anyone tin be approached to exist a coin mule.

What Are the Signs?

Work-from-Dwelling Job Opportunities

  • You lot received an unsolicited email or social media message that promises easy coin for fiddling or no effort.
  • The "employer" y'all communicate with uses web-based email services (such every bit Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, Outlook, etc.).
  • Y'all are asked to open a banking company account in your own name or in the proper noun of a company you form to receive and transfer money.
  • As an employee, you lot are asked to receive funds in your depository financial institution account and and then "process" or "transfer" funds via: wire transfer, ACH, mail, or money service business (such every bit Western Matrimony or MoneyGram).
  • You are allowed to keep a portion of the money you transfer.
  • Your duties have no specific task description.

Dating and Social Media Sites

  • An online contact or companion, whom y'all take never met in person, asks yous to receive money and then forward these funds to one or more individuals you practice not know.

Protect Yourself

  • Perform online searches to check the legitimacy of any company that offers yous a job.
  • Practice not accept any job offers that inquire you to use your ain banking company account to transfer coin. A legitimate company volition not ask you to do this.
  • Be wary if an employer asks yous to form a company to open a new bank account.
  • Be suspicious if an individual y'all met on a dating website wants to utilize your bank business relationship for receiving and forwarding money.
  • Never give your fiscal details to someone you don't know and trust, especially if you lot met them online.

Reply and Report

If yous have received solicitations of this type, do not respond to them and do not click on any links they incorporate. Inform your local police or the FBI.

If you believe that you are participating in a money mule scheme:

  • End advice with the suspected criminal(s).
  • End transferring money or whatsoever other items of value immediately.
  • Maintain whatsoever receipts, contact information, and relevant communications (emails, chats, text messages, etc.).
  • Notify your bank and the service you lot used to acquit the transaction.
  • Notify police force enforcement. Report suspicious activeness to the FBI'south Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at ic3.gov, and contact your local FBI field part.

Stock graphic of man in spotlight casting mule shadow on the ground with other people in the background.

Types of Money Mules

Unwitting or Unknowing

Individuals are unaware they are function of a larger scheme

  • Often solicited via an online romance scheme or job offer
  • Asked to employ their established personal bank account or open up a new business relationship in their truthful proper name to receive money from someone they have never met in person
  • May be told to keep a portion of the money they transferred
  • Motivated by trust in the actual existence of their romance or chore position

Witting

Individuals ignore obvious ruddy flags or human action willfully bullheaded to their coin motility activity

  • May accept been warned past bank employees they were involved with fraudulent activity
  • Open accounts with multiple banks in their true name
  • May have been unwitting at first only keep communication and participation
  • Motivated by financial gain or an unwillingness to acknowledge their function

Complicit

Individuals are enlightened of their role and actively participate

  • Serially open up banking company accounts to receive coin from a multifariousness of individuals/businesses for criminal reasons
  • Advertise their services as a coin mule, to include what actions they offer and at what prices. This may also include a review and/or rating by other criminal actors on the money mule's speed and reliability.
  • Travel, every bit directed, to different countries to open fiscal accounts or register companies
  • Operate funnel accounts to receive fraud gain from multiple lower level coin mules
  • Recruit other money mules
  • Motivated by fiscal gain or loyalty to a known criminal group

Stories

Press Releases

  • 12.03.2021

    U.Due south. Department of Justice Announces Results of Nationwide Enforcement Action Against Money Mules

  • 12.03.2021

    U.S. Constabulary Enforcement Targets Fraud Facilitators, Doubling Last Yr's Enforcement

  • 12.03.2021

    U.Southward. Police Enforcement Targets Fraud Facilitators, Doubling Last Year'southward Enforcement

  • 12.03.2021

    U.Due south. Law Enforcement Targets Fraud Facilitators, Doubling Terminal Year's Enforcement

  • 12.03.2021

    U.Due south. Police force Enforcement Targets Fraud Facilitators, Doubling Last Year's Enforcement

  • 12.03.2021

    U.Southward. Police force Enforcement Targets Fraud Facilitators, Doubling Terminal Twelvemonth'south Enforcement

  • 12.03.2021

    Two Defendants Indicted During Nationwide 'Coin Mule Initiative'

  • 08.09.2021

    Donna J. Clark Indicted for Fraud and Money Laundering in COVID-19-Related Paycheck Protection Program Loan Scheme

  • 06.22.2021

    Oregon FBI Tech Tuesday: Building a Digital Defense force Against Elder Fraud (Part ii, Money Mules)

  • 05.25.2021

    Melbourne Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Money Mule Activities

  • 12.15.2020

    Your Bank Account Could Be Bankrolling Law-breaking

  • 12.xi.2020

    FBI Warns of Money Mules

  • 12.eleven.2020

    Northern District of Alabama Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Function of Global Crackdown Confronting Money Laundering and Transnational Fraud

  • 12.08.2020

    Fraudsters Casualty on Emotions and Bank Accounts in Coin Mule Schemes

  • 12.04.2020

    Your Banking concern Account Could Exist Fueling Offense

  • 12.03.2020

    U.Due south. Constabulary Enforcement Takes Action Confronting Approximately 2,300 Money Mules in Global Crackdown on Money Laundering

  • 12.03.2020

    U.Southward. Constabulary Enforcement Takes Activeness Against Approximately 2,300 Money Mules in Global Crackdown on Money Laundering

  • 12.03.2020

    U.S. Law Enforcement Takes Activeness Against Approximately 2,300 Money Mules in Global Crackdown on Money Laundering

  • 12.03.2020

    U.S. Police force Enforcement Takes Action Against Coin Mules in Global Crackdown on Money Laundering

  • 12.02.2020

    Arizona 2022 Coin Mule Initiative

  • 12.02.2020

    U.S. Law Enforcement Takes Action Against Approximately 2,300 Coin Mules in Global Crackdown on Money Laundering

  • eleven.xvi.2020

    FBI, TBI, and U.Due south. Secret Service Warn of Increase in Money Mule Schemes in Middle and West Tennessee

  • 11.12.2020

    Top Maine Law Enforcement Officials Caution Residents About Condign "Money Mules"

  • 10.09.2020

    Four Individuals are Charged for Operating as 'Money Mules' in Separate Business Email Compromise Schemes

  • 04.06.2020

    FBI Warns of Money Mule Schemes Exploiting the COVID-nineteen Pandemic

  • 12.23.2019

    Miami Man Sentenced to More Than Five Years in Prison for Role equally Money Mule and Mule Recruiter in International Cybercrime Money Laundering Network

  • 12.04.2019

    Justice Department Announces Landmark Money Mule Initiative