Security News > 2021 > November > Criminal group dismantled after forcing victims to be money mules
The Spanish police have arrested 45 people who are believed to be members of an online fraud group that operated twenty websites to defraud at least 200 people of 1,500,000 Euros.
When victims made purchases, the money went to bank accounts that belonged to other victims who were forced by the criminals to act as "Money mules".
Subsequently, they informed the victim that the only way to get their money back was to become "Money mules" themselves.
The money was withdrawn at ATMs in Benin, with the actors hoping that the West African country would be far from any kind of scrutiny.
In some cases, the money mules were happy with the commission they received, and opened more bank accounts voluntarily.
In other cases where victims weren't as cooperative, the criminals had to deliver death threats or use forged contracts that presented them as legitimate moneylenders, tricking victims into thinking they operated in a legal context.