Money Mules
A money mule is an individual recruited by fraudsters to facilitate the transfer of illicit funds, often without full awareness of their role within a broader criminal network. This intermediary role complicates efforts to distinguish between perpetrators and victims. Funds are typically moved through bank wire transfers, email money transfers, money services businesses, and virtual currencies, with mules compensated through a percentage of the transferred funds for their services.
There are many variations of Money Mule scams, including:
Romance Scam
Job Scam
Prize Scam
Warning Signs:
•If you receive funds for any reason from an unknown individual or company, and you are asked to forward it elsewhere - DON’T!
• Be aware of offers for employment from what appears to be a legitimate employer looking for a “Financial Officer”. The duties usually involve: collecting payments for the new employer, accepting funds into your personal bank account, and forwarding the money to a different country.
• Victims of romance scams have been used as money mules as their “loved one” is working in a foreign country and needs help to collect funds.
• Consumers that have won a fake lottery receive advance payments on their winnings. They are then asked to forward it to a “financial office” to cover fees or taxes.
• Any request to conduct unusual or questionable transactions on behalf of a third party should be questioned.
To report a fraud or scam, please contact 604.946.4411, report online, or contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
Basic Cyber Tips
- If you receive funds for any reason from an unknown individual or company, and you are asked to forward it elsewhere - DON’T!
- Be aware of offers for employment from what appears to be a legitimate employer looking for a “Financial Officer”. The duties usually involve: collecting payments for the new employer, accepting funds into your personal bank account, and forwarding the money to a different country.
- Victims of romance scams have been used as money mules as their “loved one” is working in a foreign country and needs help to collect funds.
- Consumers that have won a fake lottery receive advance payments on their winnings. They are then asked to forward it to a “financial office” to cover fees or taxes.
- Any request to conduct unusual or questionable transactions on behalf of a third party should be questioned.
- Passwords protect your personal information
- Use unique passwords for each account
- Passwords should be:
- at least 12 characters
- mix of upper and lowercase
- include numbers and symbols (!?#@)
- Use a combination of random words or phrases:
- Delta Banana Friday ---> DeltaBananaFriday ---> D3lt@B@n@n@Fr1d@y
- Use variants:
- D3lt@B@n@n@Fr1d@yB (for bank)
- A Password Manager is a program that stores all of your unique passwords
- Like a password vault
- Can have:
- multi-factor authentication
- warnings about weak or reused passwords
- integration with your other devices
- Updates are important to keep your data safe
- Install updates automatically OR update as soon as prompted
- Update all your devices and software, including modems and routers
- Beware of posting personal data on social media
- Do not use public wi-fi for sensitive activities
- Shop only at trusted online vendors