Young money mules destroying their future, gardaí warn
Updated / Friday, 12 Mar 2021
15:10
Gardaí said young people are being targeted mainly on social media due to the lockdown, but alos through school and college
Money mules are people who allow their bank accounts to be used by criminals.
The Garda National Economic Crime Bureau said suspects have been identified in every county in Ireland and warned that those involved are destroying their future.
Detective Chief Superintendent Pat Lordan said young people are being targeted mainly on social media due to the lockdown but that many are also being recruited through school and college to act as money mules.
Children as young as 15 are being used by organised criminal gangs to act as ‘money mules’ to launder the proceeds of online fraud through their ‘clean’ bank accounts, gardaí have revealed.
Secondary school and college students are being lured into the practice of having money moved through their accounts for a tempting commission but are destroying their futures when they are caught, gardai warned.
A money mule is someone who allows others to use their bank accounts. The accounts are used to receive or disburse fraudulent or illegally obtained funds, most likely from online fraud and other cyber crime.
The gangs like to use young people with no criminal records because they have no previous interaction with gardai and the gangs feel it lessens their chances of being traced.
Over 700 suspected money mules identified as gardaí warn they re destroying their futures thejournal.ie - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thejournal.ie Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
More than 260,000 credit and debit cards frauds, totalling €22 million in value, hit Irish people last year, leading gardai to warn people about the dangers of online shopping.
As part of Fraud Awareness Week gardai have said online transaction frauds were up 50pc in 2020 compared to 2019.
And with a large increase in online shopping due to Covid restrictions the amount of money being spent online is being taken advantage of by fraudsters who are constantly assessing what is in demand and what they can make money on most quickly.
Detective Inspector Mel Smyth of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) said there are three main types of victims in online fraud - a person who buys something and does not receive it, a person who sells something but gets no payment, and a financial institution when compromised cards or bank accounts are used to make online purchases.