Don't be a mule

Thousands of bank account holders are being used by criminals as "money mules" to launder the proceeds of crime, according to fraud figures released today.

CIFAS, a fraud prevention service working on behalf of banks, retailers and hundreds of other organisations, says there has been a 54 per cent jump in the misuse of bank accounts so far this year.

The fraudsters target students, the unemployed and others who are stuggling financially - asking permission to use their accounts to handle money and transfer it to banks overseas, in exchange for a fee.

Fraud experts say the funds can come from internet scams, drug sales or people-trafficking.

CIFAS says there were 11,920 examples of account misuse in the four months to April. That's 19% up on the previous 4 months and 54% higher than the same period last year.

Over half of the frauds arose from individuals allowing their accounts to be used to receive money linked to organised crime.

Some people who become involved are unaware that they may be committing an offence and could have their bank account closed.

Crimestoppers has been campaigning on university campuses, telling students, "Don't be a mule!"

Money Mule - one woman's narrow escape.

Money mules use their private bank accounts to launder dodgy money for fraudsters. The funds often come from phishing scams, where criminals based overseas send fake emails to online bank customers. They trick the customers into parting with their account details.
For the scam to succeed, the fraudster needs a UK-based mule to receive money into his or her bank account, then withdraw it and send it overseas using a commercial money transfer service.

The banks have put out a fraud alert in the London Borough of Newham (see my BBC report), where they are monitoring over 1,500 suspicious bank accounts. They could belong to money mules.

23 year-old Barbara Gyami from Newham told me how she had a lucky escape...

"I am currently unemployed and I registered with jobsites and agencies. I received junk email. Six or seven were from a particular address. They said they had a particular job and that I would have to give them my bank account details.
I would only be working for 5 to 6 hours a week and I'd be paid between £1,500 and £2,000 a week. It sounded too good to be true. They had said that I would have to handle £6,000 a week in my account.
I emailed them back and they replied with a contract attached. Then I contacted my job adviser. She said I should be very vigilant.
I phoned their number and no one answered. I thought: how come you haven't got any offices or anyone to answer the phone?
I didn't know what they might have done with my account. They're still sending me emails.
Then Newham Council called me. They were doing a survey about these people. They told me it was illegal."