Legitimate-Looking Ads Used to Recruit Money Mules for Criminal Operations

Money mules have been aggressively recruited this year to help cybercriminals launder money, according to Fortinet. A recent example of this is the worldwide prosecution of a Zeus criminal operation, which included 37 charges against alleged money mules.

Recent Zeus stories illustrate how prevalent money mules have become and how they are being used to filter, disguise, and spread money transfers. Today, mules are typically recruited into criminal organizations through legitimate-looking advertisements.

A suspect ad may suggest a client is looking for a “payment processing agent,” “money transfer agent,” or something as vague as an “administrative representative.” These recruitment ads can be found anywhere from print and online job sites to direct points of contact. While many mules likely enter into the business relationship knowing the full criminal implications of what they are doing, a surprising number do not.

One of the most recent money mule recruitment emails began the subject line with “Re: CV.” The body of the email offered the recipient an “administrative representative” position for a proposed salary of €5,000 per month plus commission. One of the listed job duties was to “administer day-to-day financial responsibilities for clients,” as well as prepare weekly financial reports.

Most opportunities today offer prospects roughly 10 percent commission for any transfers they make. With a few simple clicks, a $10,000 transfer could net the mule about $1,000.

The following guidelines can help prevent someone from inadvertently becoming a money mule:

1. If the job offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be wary of any job opportunities that promise great rewards for little or no work or experience.
2. If the job description is vague, unclear, or does not specify who you would report to in the new position, research the company thoroughly to get those questions answered.
3. Be especially cautious with money transfer job offers from overseas, as they can be difficult to research and verify. If the company does not have verifiable contact information (phone, email, and address) on their website, think twice about working with them.
4. Be aware of any company that asks for a personal bank account number as the means through which money is expected to flow. Recruiters typically mandate that their mules use anonymous money transferring services for outbound funds; as with any scam, be cautious of such requests.
5. Security services such as anti-spam and web content filtering can help minimize money mule recruitment attempts by flagging recruitment emails or potentially blocking specific illegitimate job recruitment domains.

Anyone suspecting they may have been a victim of this type of crime should contact their bank immediately.

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