BBC
Derai says he fears cash offer is 'too good to be true'
The UK has seen a rise in 'money mule' frauds, with people in their 20s most likely to be involved, new data seen by BBC Newsbeat suggests.
A money mule is a person whose bank account is used by criminals to move money as part of a chain of transactions that makes tracking more difficult.
It is a criminal offense and more than 19,000 cases have been recorded in the first half of 2024, according to UK fraud prevention group Cifas.
This is an increase of 11% compared to the same period in 2023, and 21 to 30 year olds are involved in almost half of all cases recorded from January to July.
“I needed money”
While some money mules are aware that they are doing something illegal, others are not.
They are lured into participating, either by people they trust or by promises of career advancement and investment opportunities.
Derai, who lives in Manchester, says he hadn't heard of money mules until he became one in 2019.
At the time, he was saving up to pay a photographer for a portfolio to help him pursue a modeling career.
“I needed money,” the 26-year-old told BBC Newsbeat.
“I saw a friend post online saying, 'Do you want to make some quick money today?'”
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More than 19,000 cases involving money mules recorded in the first half of 2024
Derai says the friend's Instagram account contained photos of “cars, hands holding £50 notes, holidays”.
“It was glitz and glamour,” he says. “She would say, ‘I made this much money today and you can too’.”
Derai responded to a “quick cash” ad on Instagram and was put in touch with someone who he now knows was a money mule recruiter.
After exchanging messages, Derai shared his bank details and £4,000 ($5,000) was deposited into his account the same day.
“I wasn’t used to my bank balance being a four-digit number,” he says.
Derai said it seemed too good to be true. He would eventually find out that was the case.
“I don’t feel criminal”
In these cases, money is transferred to one account, withdrawn and sent to another, usually leaving a small amount as payment.
Acting as a money mule can result in up to 14 years in prison, and the National Crime Agency (NCA) says it has evidence linking cases to organized crime, including modern slavery and human trafficking.
Dr Nicola Harding, of fraud prevention service We Fight Fraud, says money mule recruiters are able to target people who would not usually commit crime.
“If I went to someone and said 'go and mug that old lady' they would say 'absolutely not, I'm not a criminal',” Dr Nicola told BBC Newsbeat.
“But if I say, 'let me put this money in your account, you can take some to help me,' that doesn't seem criminal to me.”
Dr Nicola believes recruiters are “selling the dream” of Money Muling as a sort of “side hustle” and exploiting the aspirations of teenagers and twenty-somethings.
This dream was short-lived for Derai.
We fight against fraud
Dr Nicola Harding says the way being a money mule is sold to people gives recruiters a wider range of potential targets.
He met with a recruiter at a bank, who planned to withdraw the money deposited in his account and return it to him.
As he followed their instructions, the ATM swallowed his card and his bank told him it had closed his account shortly after.
While being a money mule can land you in jail, it's more common for a red flag to be placed in front of someone's name if fraudulent activity is suspected.
“I was told I wouldn’t be able to have a bank account for six years,” says Derai.
“It’s a blacklist. You can’t get a credit card, you can’t get a loan, you can’t get a mortgage.
“I was a little ashamed. My mother was upset but she told me 'son, you can fix this, do what you need to do to get your life back'.”
Derai called on the Financial Ombudsman Service, an organization that resolves disputes between businesses and customers.
Three calls and 10 months later, he convinced authorities to remove the marking of his name, allowing him to open an account and rebuild his future.
Beware of “get-rich-quick schemes”
Derai's story is becoming more and more common in the UK.
Chris Ainsley, head of fraud risk management at Santander UK, says many don't tackle the situation until they notice the effect on their finances.
“We're going to try to contact them to talk about what happened,” says Chris.
“But we often hear absolutely nothing until a few years later someone realizes we've raised red flags on their account.”
Santander told BBC Newsbeat that the bank recorded more than 6,200 cases involving 25-34 year olds in the 12 months to September 2024, an increase of 45% on the previous year.
During the same period, more than 4,600 cases were recorded among 18-24 year olds, an increase of 26%.
Santander's Chris Ainsley says many money mules don't contact their bank until it's too late
Cifas told BBC Newsbeat it sees social media as a “key tool” for recruiting money mules, while the NCA says TikTok and Instagram are “very prevalent” in the cases it is investigating.
Instagram owner Meta said it has worked with UK banks and investigators to combat scams and stop criminal activity.
TikTok said that as of spring 2024, it removed 95.9% of videos violating its fraud and scam policies before they were reported.
Snapchat's parent company, Snap Inc., said it regularly records content suspected of being illegal and makes it available to authorities upon request.
The NCA said its work led to the arrest of 48 money couriers in one month this fall.
Nick Sharp, deputy director of the National Economic Crime Centre, told BBC Newsbeat that cases were “increasingly” leading to arrests.
“If you're given an opportunity that allows you to get rich quick, there's no legitimate job that allows you to do that,” he says.
“No one will ever need to access your bank account, so if this happens, report it.
“But better yet, don’t go there in the first place.”
Listen to Newsbeat live at 12.45pm and 5.45pm weekdays – or listen again here.
