The BBC News has posted a report that the Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA), based in the UK, is warning individuals to avoid online money-making schemes that turn them into unsuspecting “money mules.” The article explains:

Fraudsters are using a variety of bogus and legitimate recruitment channels to con job-hunters into thinking they have found genuine employment. But in each case the job comes down to asking the victim to receive relatively small amounts of money into their own account and then move them onwards to another bank.

The result is that unsuspecting individuals can become liable for stolen money being funneled through their accounts and end up suffering the consequences. As an essential component of many types of fraud, money laundering is a big problem because it enables criminals to move money around without being traced to the initial theft. This not only affects online banking, but it is also a problem anywhere money changes hands—like online casinos or auction sites. (more…)