Spammers are increasingly offering employment, either redelivering packages or redistributing payments, according to email security experts ClearSwift.
The first such scam involves accepting delivery of goods paid for with a stolen credit card, then forwarding them further along the chain. The second is a simple money laundering role where the “worker” acts as a so-called money mule, taking money from the fraudsters, washing it through a legitimate bank account and returning it clean, minus a cut, to the criminals.
Four money mules were convicted earlier this month at Preston Crown Court for their part in a phishing scam. Each received a custodial sentence of six months after receiving sums ranging from £1,500 to £15,000 and transferring them to the account of an accomplice less a small commission. But prosecuting money mules can be difficult.
Under the Proceeds of Crime Act of 2002, to be guilty of a money laundering offence, a mule must at least suspect that the money being transferred is a criminal gain. Some mules are said to be recruited with written employment contracts, helping to convince them that they are part of a lawful enterprise.
The banks also have anti-money laundering procedures to follow, including an obligation to report any suspicious transactions. This week, the Financial Services Authority fined an investment firm and its managing director for failing to follow these rules.
Emerging market bond broker Investment Services UK Limited was fined £175,000 for conducting its business without due skill, care and diligence and for failing to control its business effectively in relation to anti-money laundering systems and controls.
The firm's Managing Director, Ram Melwani, was fined £30,000 for failing to act with due care, skill and diligence, failing to ensure his firm complied with anti-money laundering requirements and for being knowingly concerned in the actions taken by the firm. He is the first approved person to be fined for anti-money laundering-related breaches.
