Stubborn as a mule-hunter: Lloyds Bank cracks down on money mules

New data from Lloyds Bank’s expert money mule-hunting team shows the number of money mules found rose by 44% over the past year, as the bank continued to invest in the latest mule-spotting technology and techniques.

A money mule is someone who transfers or moves illegally acquired money on behalf of someone else. Scammers, often using social media to find their victims, recruit people to move money in this way, offering a cut of the cash to do so. They also intentionally target previously law-abiding people who opened, and are using, their bank accounts legitimately, to try and avoid detection.

The money being moved through these accounts has often been stolen in other scams. The criminals’ recruitment tactics vary – many frame the movement of cash as a legitimate job or an investment scheme, meaning victims are almost always unaware of the illegal activity they are undertaking. Some victims are drawn in by family members or friends, who have already been recruited and are also unaware they’re acting as money mules.

Lloyds Bank’s mule-hunting team, made up of specialist fraud investigators trained in behavioural analysis and pattern spotting, use state-of-the-art technology to scan the millions of legitimate payments made each day by its customers, to identify changes in the way accounts are used, to find money mule activity.

When a mule is identified, their account (or accounts) will be immediately frozen. In total, the mule-hunting team have uncovered more than 160,000 mule accounts and stopped more than £114 million from getting into the hands of fraudsters - in real-time - since the team was set up in 2018.

No ageism when it comes to choosing victims

Young people, especially students, can be short on cash so it’s no surprise that fraudsters frequently target them for mule recruitment. Lloyds Bank data shows nearly a quarter (24%) of money mule accounts belong to customers aged 19 to 25 and over half (58%) belong to a customer aged between 19 and 40.

However, in recent years, there has been an increase in older people becoming money mules. The latest Lloyds Bank data shows 19% of money mule accounts are held by customers over 40, a growth of an astonishing 73% over the last year.

Not just the money changing locations

Nearly a quarter of frozen money mule accounts were held by people living in Greater London (22%). Other areas of the UK have seen large increases in the number of money mules identified.

Unknown criminal

Most money mules are completely in the dark about their recruitment, as they’ve been tricked by scammers, or sometimes recruited by people they know (who may also not be aware of their money mule status, having been tricked themselves at an earlier time.) Whether knowingly or not, acting as a money mule is always against the law and can lead to serious consequences:

• Up to 14 years in prison.
• Prevented from opening a bank account for up to six years.
• Listed on the national fraud database (CIFAS).
• An impact on credit prospects, meaning they might not be able to get a mortgage, loan or even phone contract.

Liz Ziegler, Fraud Prevention Director at Lloyds Bank, said: “Acting as a money mule is a serious crime and can lead to life changing consequences. It’s vital that people are aware of these money laundering schemes and how easy it is to be lured in.

“Criminals are very good at making their illegal activities look like a real job opportunity and at tricking people into unknowingly recruiting family members and friends into becoming money mules.

“Fraudsters will keep the illusion of legitimacy up until the mule gets caught, then disappear, leaving the mule to deal with the fallout of unintentionally laundering money.

“While the realisation that you’ve mistakenly helped a fraudster clean their dirty money would be devastating for anyone, when it comes to mules, it won’t save them from the consequences, which can be extremely serious.

“Always remember - no legitimate company or person will ever ask you to use your bank account to receive and transfer their money. Do not do it under any circumstances, it’s not worth risking your own future by doing so.”

Avoid becoming a money mule:

• Never receive and send money through your account on behalf of others or give anyone control of your account to do so themselves.
• Remember no legitimate company or investment scheme will ask you to use your own bank account to transfer their money.
• Be cautious of unsolicited offers promising easy money, especially on social media, which is a key ‘hunting ground’ for mule recruiters.
• Remember it’s not just strangers that can fool you into becoming a money mule – if a friend or family member unexpectedly asks you to accept or move money for them, ask plenty of questions so you can be sure you understand why they need your help. If in doubt as to where funds have come from, don’t take the risk.