Money Mule Recruitment Scam
Scammers recruit victims to transfer stolen money through personal accounts. This is federal money laundering—even if unintentional.
🚩 Red Flags
- ⚠Job requires using personal bank account
- ⚠Receive money and forward elsewhere
- ⚠Unsolicited job contact
- ⚠Romantic partner asks to receive funds
🛡️ Protect Yourself
- →REFUSE: Never receive and forward money for others
- →RECOGNIZE: This is money laundering (federal crime)
- →STOP immediately if already doing this
- →REPORT to FBI field office
More Details
- “Work from home as payment processor”
- “Receive and forward to overseas office”
- “Keep 10% commission”
- “Help me receive funds, I'll pay you”
Common Questions
Red flags: hired without video interview, sent check before starting, asked to buy equipment and return extra, communication only via Telegram.
Never. Legitimate employers don't send checks before you start. It's a fake check scam.
Recruited for "simple tasks" (rating products). Small initial payments are real. Then you must deposit to unlock more — that deposit is stolen.
Yes. "Payment processor" jobs are money laundering. You could face federal charges even if you didn't know.
Report This Scam
If you've encountered this scam, report it to help protect others.
Warn Someone You Know
Know someone who might fall for this? Share this warning with them.
Related Scams
Reshipping Package Scam
Scammers hire victims to receive and reship packages overseas. Packages contain goods from stolen credit cards—you're an accomplice.
Fake Job Offer Check Scam
Scam "employers" send checks for equipment—you deposit, send back "extra," check bounces. Real employers never send checks before you start.
Online Romance Scam
Scammers build fake romantic relationships, then request money. FBI IC3: 17,910 complaints, $672M losses in 2024.
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73% of Americans targeted(Pew, 2025)
|$470M lost to text scams in 2024(FTC)
|$16.6B total losses(FBI IC3, 2024)