Don’t let cybercriminals turn your bank account into a money mule.
That’s the warning from authorities who have issued a major alert to bank customers, some of whom have been taking payments of as little as $200 to share their details.
Money mules are people who are knowingly or unknowingly recruited by criminal syndicates to transfer illicit money in and out of their personal accounts, making it appear legitimate.
As more criminal networks seek ways to launder their ill-gotten gains, they are open to paying money mules anything from $200 to $500 to help out.
But taking that “commission” can lead to serious legal consequences, like life in prison.
“It is illegal to rent, buy or sell bank accounts, and doing so supports the criminal ecosystem,” Australian Federal Police Detective Superintendent Marie Andersson said on Tuesday.
“Your account may be housing money derived from scams, extortion, drug trafficking and terrorism.”
The warning comes after a 26-year-old Sydney woman was jailed for 21 months in April for renting 10 bank accounts to a Vietnamese money laundering syndicate.
The syndicate used mules in Sydney and Melbourne to pick up and deposit cash through ATMs and into bank accounts.
This mule regularly changed her clothes and wore wigs and sunglasses to conceal her identity from ATM cameras during the deposits.
The 10 accounts she used laundered $3.8 million in proceeds of crime, which was transferred overseas.
In 2024, around $142 million was lost to scammers through bank transfers in Australia, according to Scamwatch.
Criminals target mules through social media, messaging or gaming platforms, online advertisements and chat forums.
Common methods include employment scams, where people are promised quick and easy money for transferring funds into their bank accounts.
Others are threat scams, where victims are threatened with criminal charges and arrest unless they transfer funds.
There are also romance scams, where the criminals build an online relationship with a person before asking for personal bank account details or to transfer money
Money mules are increasingly being asked to move funds through cryptocurrency and global money transfer apps, which can be faster and more discreet.
“Renting or selling your bank account may seem harmless, but you may be unwittingly helping a scammer to rip off a family member or someone else you know,” Australian Banking Association CEO Anna Bligh said.
“Don’t let criminals cash in on your bank account.”
Money laundering is a serious criminal offence with charges carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
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