Could your online contacts or activities lead to charges of fraud or money laundering being brought against you? It might not be as crazy as it sounds.
People of all ages, races and backgrounds get swept up in internet scams and fraudulent schemes. Let’s explore how crimes can arise from online job postings and romance sites.
When it sounds too good to be true, it is
LinkedIn is often the site for remote job postings that turn out to be money laundering operations. They typically headhunt their marks, offering nebulous job descriptions with no clear-cut purpose other than “buying crypto” or an “accounts manager” whose only duty is to move dirty money through legitimate bank accounts and “wash” it clean.
Lonely-hearts scams now high-tech
There’s nothing new about lonely-hearts scams. Cads and femme fatales have been cheating their marks out of their hard-earned (or inherited) dollars for centuries.
It’s now just a whole lot easier to create a scam once you connect to the mark via an online dating site. Those members are actively seeking soul mates and partners and often ignore the red flags because they want to believe they have found love. Later, when their pseudo-love asks them to make online transactions, they are already on the hook and “in love.”
Running afoul of the feds
As one can imagine, the federal government takes a dim view of those who circumvent the very laws designed to stop money laundering. Make no mistake; being a money mule is a felony charge on the federal level.
The three categories of money mules are:
- Unwitting – These people are unaware they are being used to launder money.
- Witting – They may have started out unwitting, but over time they became aware their activities were illegal.
- Complicit – At this level, money mules may be actively recruiting others to do the same.
Don’t get caught up in a federal indictment. Start building a stalwart defense to the charges immediately.