A quarter of people aged 18-to-24 would consider “money muling” and use their bank account to transfer money on behalf of someone else.
This is despite over half of them not understanding what ‘money muling’ actually means.
That’s according to the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland.
The organisation’s direction of communications Jillian Heffernan said that there needs to be more of an effort made to educate young people and their parents on what money muling is, and the consequences that can come with it.
“One of the main ways we’re seeing young people being recruited is through job adverts or direct messages on social media,” she told Newstalk Breakfast.
“So, you might get a message on Instagram or Snapchat with someone offering you the chance to earn some quick cash.
“Or [you might] see a job advert for something like a payment processor, telling you [that] you can earn some easy money.
“What you’re told you have to do is let them send money to your bank account, be that an existing account, or you might be asked to open a new one, and they’ll give you instructions in terms of where to transfer that money.”
Man with many bills or invoices and no money. Debt. Alamy 2024Ms Heffernan made it clear that while these may sound like attractive offers, it is illegal activity and a form of money laundering.
“I suppose, there’s two sets of consequences that we need people to be aware of,” she said.
“The first of those is that people don’t often understand where the money is coming from and where it’s going.
“We all know people who’ve lost money to things like text message or email scams, and that’s exactly the same money that’s flowing through these accounts; so it’s money from innocent people that’s effectively been stolen.
“On the other side of that, in terms of where the money is going, it’s being used effectively to bankroll other serious crimes, including terrorism, drug trafficking, or even human trafficking.”
Prison
According to Ms Heffernan, if a person is caught allowing their bank account to be used to facilitate money laundering, they may face up to 14-years in prison, as well as the prospect of a criminal record.
“You’re going to have difficulty accessing financial services in the future, such as getting loans or mortgages,” she said.
“You certainly won’t be applying for any visas if you have a criminal record; so you won’t be going places like the States or Australia.
“And your career opportunities will suffer because you’re going to have to declare you have a criminal record.”
Ms Heffernan encouraged parents to discuss what money muling is and the consequences it could have with their teens and young adults.
Main image: A person holds and counts budget money. Image: imageBROKER.com GmbH & Co. KG / Alamy
