It all starts with an unexpected message, whether on WhatsApp or Telegram. Phrases like “Hi, are you looking for a job?”, “Do you want to earn easy money?” or proposals to temporarily receive money in your bank account are the order of the day. No qualifications or work experience are requested. Telephone prefixes from South Africa or other remote locations characterize these messages sent by unknown recruiters, often managed by bots or fake identities.
The phenomenon of money muling, which is becoming increasingly common, is mainly aimed at bank account holders. Those who agree to transfer money for others, with the promise of a commission, end up unknowingly becoming part of a cyber scam. A “money mule” is a person who transfers money on behalf of another, either digitally or in cash, in exchange for a commission.
Cybercriminals recruit “mules” through a variety of methods, including direct contact, email, instant messaging apps like WhatsApp, Viber, and Telegram, social media like Facebook and Instagram, and online pop-up ads. Scammers often create copies of well-known companies’ websites, with very similar URLs, to trick victims. People under the age of 35, including minors, the unemployed, students, recent immigrants, and those experiencing financial hardship, are prime targets.
It is important to be vigilant and recognize the signs of a possible scam. Unsolicited contacts promising easy money, job offers from foreign companies looking for “local/national agents” without requiring specific qualifications, messages with grammatical and logical errors, emails from free services such as Gmail or Yahoo that do not match the name of the company, and requests to use your bank account to transfer money are all warning signs.
To protect yourself from scams, it is essential to research the company or person offering the job, not provide banking details to strangers, and refuse offers of easy money. If you suspect you are involved in a money muling scheme, it is essential to immediately stop transferring money, notify your bank or payment card provider, and inform the authorities. Since 2016, the European Money Mule Action has identified over 2,000 “mules” and arrested 400 people under the coordination of Europol, Eurojust, and the European Banking Federation. In Operation “Emma 9” in 2023, the Italian Postal Police detected 2,729 fraudulent transactions and identified 879 “mules”, preventing fraud worth over €6 million.
In mid-June, the Guardia di Finanza in Padua discovered a 450,000 euro scam involving financial investment proposals. Victims received investment proposals via instant messaging from foreign numbers. After making transfers to Italian and foreign bank accounts, the scammers showed them fictitious profits. When victims asked to cash out the profits, they were told they had to pay taxes first. In three months, an Italian citizen living in the province of Bologna received about 50,000 euros in his bank accounts, but the total transactions amounted to 450,000 euros. The money was converted into cryptocurrencies and sent to the scammers, with the citizen acting as a money mule.
Valentina, one of the victims, told Corriere della Sera that she was contacted on WhatsApp by a number with a South African prefix. After a brief discussion, she was invited to a Telegram group where she was promised easy earnings by sending and receiving money. Despite her suspicions, she began to follow the scammers’ instructions, losing a total of 3,100 euros. Money muling is a practice used by organized crime to launder money from illicit activities. Victims, often unaware, are recruited with the promise of easy earnings. It is essential to be aware of the risks and recognize the signs of a possible scam to protect yourself from these deceptive schemes.
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