Criminals don’t like getting caught. So, when they want to send and receive stolen money, they get someone else to do the dirty work. Some scammers develop online relationships and ask their new sweetheart or friend to accept a deposit and transfer funds for them. Other cons recruit victims with job ads that seem like they’re for legit jobs, but they’re not. Law enforcement calls the victims ’money mules.’ If you get involved with one of these schemes, you could lose money and personal information, and you could get into legal trouble.
Scammers post ads for imaginary job openings for payment-processing agents, finance support clerks, mystery shoppers, interns, money transfer agents or administrative assistants. They search job sites, online classifieds and social media to hunt for potential money mules. For example, if you post your resume on a job site, they might send you an email saying, ‘We saw your resume online and want to hire you.’ The ads often say:
- the company is outside the U.S.
- all work is done online
- you’ll get great pay for little work
If you respond, the scammer may interview you or send an online application. He does that to collect your personal information and make the job offer seem legitimate. At some point, the scammer will ask for your bank account number, or tell you to open a new account, and then send you instructions about transferring money.
If you think you’re involved with a money transfer scam:
- stop transferring money
- close your bank account
- notify your bank and the wire transfer service about the scam
- report it to the FTC
If you’re looking for work, check out the FTC’s tips about jobs and making money and warning signs of a job scam.
