02.12.2021

FINANCIAL MULES ARE EMPTYING BANK ACCOUNTS

Bulgarian law enforcement agencies have identified 96 "financial mules" and 4 recruiters, as well as 222 victims of criminal activity - 150 more than last year.

In connection with the fight against financial crime, in the course of the current campaign, with the help of banks in the country, 177 illegal transactions were identified - almost twice as many as last year, preventing damages of more than 5 million euros, according to the Association of banks in Bulgaria.

For the seventh year in a row, financial institutions and law enforcement agencies from 27 countries are participating in a joint campaign against money laundering and fundraising schemes.

These individuals have a key role to play in laundering money from a wide range of online scams, such as the recent phone scams, phishing scams with e-mails that mimic real sites, e-commerce scams, SIM card swaps, social engineering and more. The global campaign is organized by the European Cybercrime Center at Europol (EC3 - EUROPOL), and the partner is the European Banking Federation, of which the Association of Bulgarian Banks is a member.

A financial mule is a person who transfers illegally acquired funds between different bank accounts, often in different countries, and receives a commission for this activity. According to Europol statistics, in 95% of cases "financial mules" are used to embezzle money transferred from previous cybercrime activities.

The funds are often used to finance other criminal activities and money laundering.

Various schemes are used to raise "financial mules", such as dating sites, through which criminals try to persuade their victims to open bank accounts to send or receive funds. Also, through posts on social networks with tempting job offers, ensuring easy and quick enrichment, the goal is to attract the attention of students and young people.

Criminals are increasingly resourceful, often taking advantage of real-life events to make their proposals look more credible, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. They aim to attract representatives of the most vulnerable groups who need money - students, people who have lost their jobs, and others. They often use information about the people they have identified, which they have obtained through social networks.

It is important to know that even if people used as “financial mules” were unaware that they were involved in illegal money laundering activities, they are committing a crime by transferring funds and this can have serious consequences for them.

If you think that they are trying to use you as a "financial mule", you should take immediate action before it is too late: do not transfer funds, notify your bank and the police immediately, advises the Association of Banks in Bulgaria.