Older Shropshire residents warned over 'money mule' danger

Shropshire and Telford’s not-for-profit savings and loans co-operative says there is evidence that more people in their 50s and 60s are being unsuspectedly recruited by criminals for money laundering.

Just Credit Union’s development officer Steve Barras said that a ‘money mule’ was someone who allowed their bank details to be used to transfer criminals’ cash – and this could have devastating consequences.

“The ‘money mule’ is not usually involved in the crime itself, but takes a cut of the money as ‘commission’ for allowing their accounts to be used,” he said.

“Money is moved from one account to another in order to hide the real criminal source of the cash.

“In the past criminals have tended to target the young and vulnerable. However, there is now evidence that more people in their 50s and 60s are being recruited, particularly as the cost of living crisis continues and more people are looking for additional income.

“Recent figures show that around four out of 10 instances of fraud on current accounts are related to money mules. These figures also show that the profile of people involved is changing, with many more older people and business accounts being used.

“What seems like easy additional income can be very tempting at the moment, but knowingly transferring money on behalf of criminals is money laundering, and this can be punished with up to 14 years in prison.

“As the scale of cybercrime increases, criminals have needed more and more places where they can launder their proceeds and older people are proving to be a recruitment ground.”

Recruitment could be by text and emails offering healthy returns for minimal work; job adverts, romance-related scams and investment plans offering high returns.

Older account holders were attractive to the criminals as they often have held their accounts for many years and larger transactions may be less likely to arouse suspicions.

Mr Barras warned: “Middle-aged people need to be increasingly vigilant and understand that the consequences of being a money mule can be devastating and life-changing.

“Many people knowingly become involved as a ‘money mule’ but many are initially effectively tricked into becoming involved.

"The adage ‘if something looks too good to be true it probably isn’t’ has never been truer. If you are given a high return for something that involves money moving in and out of your account, it may well be a ‘money mule’ situation with very significant penalties.”

He added: “There is very helpful advice on the National Crime Agency website about how to spot a ‘money mule’ situation and what to do.”

Just Credit Union say the advice can be found at nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/moneymuling