Young Kilkenny people warned not to act as Money Mules

An Garda Síochána in association with FraudSMART, a fraud awareness initiative led by the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), are advising consumers, particularly young adults, to be alert to the risks and consequences of recruitment as “money mules”.

The warning comes as a new survey commissioned by BPFI as part of its FraudSMART campaign for 2019 shows strong evidence of money mule activity among young people in Ireland. The practice involves criminals recruiting young people to help launder stolen or illegal money using their bank account – often unwittingly. FraudSMART aims to raise awareness of the latest financial fraud activity and trends, and how consumers and businesses can act to protect themselves.

According to the FraudSMART survey more than two in five (43%) of 18-24-year olds are likely or very likely to lodge or transfer money for someone using their own bank account in exchange for keeping some of the money for themselves. This makes them the age group most susceptible to becoming money mules compared with an overall average of 29% of adults across all age cohorts surveyed. 

The chance to earn a “quick buck” is a tactic used by fraudsters to recruit money mules, who are promised a share of the proceeds in exchange for their bank account details. The survey also revealed that 14% of 18-24-year olds say that they or someone they know have already been approached by another person looking to use their bank details to store money for someone else.

 When asked about transferring money, the figure jumps to one in five (19%) of young adults aged 18-24 who reported that they or someone they know have been asked by a third party for their bank details to carry out a transaction. This compares to just 12% of adults aged 25+, with older age cohorts overall less likely to be approached.

 The FraudSMART research also mirrors new data from BPFI’s member banks, including AIB, Bank of Ireland, KBC, PTSB and Ulster Bank, who collectively had more than 1,600 confirmed cases of money mule activity on customer accounts in 2018, a large proportion of which involved young account holders. 

 Niamh Davenport, Head of Fraud Prevention who leads the BPFI FraudSMART programme, said: “We understand that young adults are trying to juggle work and study with an active social life, with all kinds of costs to cover and it can be very tempting when someone offers you the chance to earn extra cash quickly for little effort. Our research shows that two in five 18-24-year olds are likely to do just that in exchange for their bank details, backed up by data from our member banks which shows that money mules are a growing reality in Ireland today.