Almost a third of young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 say they have been approached to become a money mule.
The practice of allowing one’s bank account to be used to launder or illegally transfer money is a growing crime.
Estimates by FraudSMART, the fraud awareness initiative led by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) put the amount detected that has been laundered through money mule accounts at €9.4 million last year. The BPFI represents the commercial banks in Ireland.
Typically the amounts involved were between €5,000 and €10,000.
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Thirty per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds reported that they, or someone they know, have been approached to use their bank account to transfer money.
Just over one in four (27 per cent) in the age cohort admitted they would be likely to consider using their bank account to transfer money on behalf of someone else, in exchange for keeping some of the money.
Yet nearly half of all 18 to 24-year-olds (47 per cent) had never heard of the term money mule and 52 per cent said they did not understand what it means.
There was also a high level of ignorance about the potential criminal consequences of such behaviour, with 35 per cent not understanding that they could face jail time while 42 per cent were unaware it could affect their ability to obtain international travel or work visas.
[ Student let scammers use his bank account to launder ‘smishing’ proceedsOpens in new window ]
The publication of Monday’s figures come as FraudSMART, with support from Amlé (formerly the Union of Students Ireland), launches the “Don’t be a mule” campaign.
BPFI head of financial crime Niamh Davenport said the findings showed the importance of raising awareness of the risk “both in terms of serious criminal consequences and the fact that money is often linked to wider financial crime networks that fuel drugs, human trafficking and other serious offences”.
