Money laundering scams involve fraudulent requests for individuals to act as intermediaries for transactions of money or assets. Victims should be aware of the criminal liability and severe penalties they may face. Red flags include being approached by strangers and being offered compensation. Scammers use tactics such as buying goods with stolen credit cards and transferring stolen funds through innocent bank accounts. Victims should be suspicious of casual contacts asking for assistance and should report any suspicious activity to law enforcement.
Money laundering scams usually involve situations where a person receives a request to act as an intermediary for transactions of money or assets. Almost all situations of this nature are fraudulent, especially if the request is from a stranger. Individuals involved in money laundering scams should be aware that they may be criminally liable for receiving stolen assets or funds and may face severe penalties. To avoid such situations, people should pay attention to business transactions and remember the adage that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
In a typical money laundering scam setup, the perpetrator approaches the victim to ask them to receive their money or assets and move them to another location. That should raise a red flag, even if the author has a good excuse for not being able to handle them directly. The perpetrator also usually tells the victim that he can keep some of the money or assets as “compensation,” another red flag warning. Businesses that need people to act as agents for transactions usually go through official agencies and third-party shippers, rather than approaching random strangers.
In money laundering scams, people do things like buy goods with stolen credit cards, ship them to the victim, and ask the victim to repackage the goods for legitimate resale. Another tactic involves transferring stolen funds through innocent bank accounts; the victim receives a check, wire transfer, or money order, deposits it, and then transfers the funds to another person. The goal of money laundering scams is to hide illegal transactions in a layer of seemingly legitimate ones.
Anyone who receives a casual contact asking for assistance in transferring money or goods should be suspicious. In money laundering scams, the perpetrator will ask the victim for personal shipping and bank account information, another warning sign. Victims will also be told that they do not need to report that activity on their taxes. In a classic example, the victim receives an email from someone claiming to be a foreign national, explaining that he is having trouble paying for his business and wants the victim to handle payments on his behalf. he. If the victim agrees, she will receive periodic deposits and get directions on where to forward the money.
Most money laundering scams are obvious in their nature. The authors turn to greed with enticements such as allowing people to keep some of the assets or funds they manage, or exploiting poor education in the hope that a potential victim won’t recognize the warning signs. If someone is approached by a person asking you to handle assets or funds on his behalf, he should contact law enforcement to report the situation.
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