6 November, 2024
CRIMINALS RAMPING UP RECRUITMENT OF ‘MONEY MULES’ AMONG VULNERABLE, SAY ANTI-FRAUD CAMPAIGNERS
Financial Fraud Awareness Campaign calls on Government to address gaps in National Fraud Strategy to protect most at risk
· Approximately £10 billion of illegal money is laundered each year in the UK
· 37,000 bank accounts were associated with ‘muling’ activity in 2023
· Fraud overall is estimated to cost the UK economy £219 billion each year
· Previous Government’s National Fraud Strategy ‘missing 77 per cent of problem’
Older people, minority communities and first-time arrivals into the UK from abroad are increasingly being targeted by organised gangs recruiting ‘money mules’ to launder criminal proceeds, a fraud awareness group has warned.
While teenagers and people under 30 have been the primary targets in recent years, a lack of preventative action and access to education of the risks has created a perfect storm allowing criminals to expand money muling activities, according to the Financial Fraud Awareness Campaign (FFAC).
The FFAC is now seeking to urgently launch a nationwide education and training programme targeting those most at risk from criminal gangs to protect them from being unwittingly drawn into criminal activity.
Jeremy Asher, Co-Founder of the FFAC and a solicitor who works with the victims of financial fraud, said:
“We are facing a national fraud emergency. Fraud costs the UK economy £219 billion a year. Much more needs to be done to prevent such enormous losses, and the FFAC has been established by counter fraud professionals to tackle what is a growing problem before it spirals even further out of control.”
The FFAC says that education support is needed on a scale far wider than the previous Government’s National Fraud Strategy proposes, and it hopes the new Labour Government will radically overhaul the strategy. The FFAC is also targeting financial institutions to raise awareness of the need for greater access to education about money laundering and associated scams and fraud.
Mr Asher said:
“The last Government missed 77 per cent of the problem which is that older demographics, minority communities and people entering the country for the first time are now being increasing targeted by organised criminals to become money mules."
Money muling is the term used to describe when an individual, commonly referred to as a ‘money mule’, moves the proceeds of crime on behalf of criminals, sometimes in exchange for payment or other benefits.
"On top of that, teenagers and young people under 30 remain a high at-risk group because of the limited education activity that has been targeted at this group over recent years. There needs to be more awareness in schools, but this is now expanding into a problem that is affecting the UK public more generally.”
Often unwittingly and without full knowledge of the criminal consequences, money mules help hide the origin of illicit funds in various ways, including moving them through their own bank account (or multiple accounts), buying and selling cryptocurrencies, or withdrawing cash and handing it over.
“Criminals frequently use an array of tricks and get rich quick promises to attract vulnerable individuals and young people with the lure of easy money – but the consequences are devastating to the individuals who get involved.”
Mr Asher leads a team at the Financial Fraud Awareness Campaign which has senior-level experience in counter fraud and fraud prevention. The organisation, established as a not-for-profit company, works with police, education organisations, legal experts, the UK Fraud Forum and national banking and financial institutions.
“We are now calling on the new Government, the financial industry and educators to get behind our work and scale up prevention education to really push back on criminals and make their recruitment tactics fail through wider awareness."
It has been established to reverse the activities of money muling and financial fraud more generally by raising awareness among those individuals most at risk, together with organisations who can help prevent it, through wide access to education and training.
ENDS -
Notes to Editors:
Data Sources:
About the Financial Fraud Awareness Campaign:
Website: https://www.ffac.co.uk
The Financial Fraud Awareness Campaign (FFAC) was founded by Jeremy Asher in response to the surge in youth "debanking" during the 2020 lockdown, where many young people were unknowingly used as money mules due to a lack of fraud education.
After observing the serious impacts of fraud markers, which can lead to debanking, job loss, and credit challenges, Jeremy and his wife Maria created a presentation to raise awareness. This evolved into a school project, driven by discussions with Richard Swarbrick and Robert Brooker, to advocate for mandatory fraud education in schools.
In May 2024, FFAC became a formal not-for-profit (FFAC C.I.C.) with the mission to provide broad, targeted fraud education and training across communities, addressing gaps in the UK’s National Fraud Strategy. With a reported £219 billion annual cost of fraud to the UK economy, FFAC plans a nationwide program using volunteers, offering both in-person education and online resources.
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