bunq Together

Anti-Fraud Guide: Money mules - Don’t become one!

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Hey bunqers 🌈

Your safety and that of your money are our top priorities, which is why we ask you to consider the risk of third parties who might misuse your identity and your account to cover up their crimes. Here’s how to keep safe from money muling.

What is mulling?

Similarly to drug mules, banking mules are used as carriers for activities that are too risky for the fraudsters to engage in personally. This means that they’d rather use a bank account created in your name for money laundering. Unfortunately, this means the holder of the account would be liable for all of these illicit transactions.

A mule allows third parties to access and use their accounts and/or agrees to make transactions upon the instruction of third parties.

Please always remember that if what they’re doing was legitimate, these people would use their own accounts! As a type of money laundering, muling is illegal and persecuted by the authorities.

How to avoid being misled into mulling?

We ask for your caution any time someone wants anything to do with your banking 👁️‍🗨️. Here are 6 best practices for keeping yourself and your account safe from fraudsters:

Never agree to grant ‘favors’ related to your banking to nice strangers or even people you know by allowing them to access your accounts or making transfers on behalf of them - neither in good will nor in exchange for payment.
Be extra careful with generous tempting offers for jobs, loans, bonuses that promise quick hefty gain, especially received from strangers and/or via social media!
Never give your login credentials or personal information to anyone.
Watch out for fake websites - carefully inspect the links you receive before clicking - if the format, spelling, and domain name don’t match the businesses web address it claims to be from, it’s likely a scam.
If you’re unsure or suspect you might be targeted, contact us via our official channels here
Never post your bank or card details online or on social media, not even in a group or group chat.

Please contact our Support team here or via the bunq app if you feel your account or identity is at risk, or if you have any questions regarding your account.