2023-04-26 02:21:15
published
“Money Mule” scamPensioner falls for Internet scammers – and has to pay hefty fines
A 66-year-old woman was recruited by criminals as a so-called “money mule”. She has now been convicted of money laundering.
Various money transfers were made to them for products offered on the Internet that were never delivered.
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The Bern prosecutor has now found the woman guilty of money laundering.
20min/Matthias Spicher
That’s what it’s regarding
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Fraudsters used a woman from the canton of Bern for their criminal business.
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The pensioner made three accounts available to them, to which various money transfers were made for products offered on the Internet that were never delivered.
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The Bern prosecutor has now found the woman guilty of money laundering.
With the so-called “money mule” scam, internet scammers have repeatedly succeeded in enlisting bona fide Swiss people for their criminal business. They use their bank accounts as an unsuspecting intermediate station for stolen money, which the more or less unsuspecting “money donkeys” are supposed to receive and transfer abroad. Although the henchmen are not directly involved in the cases of fraud, they are guilty of money laundering – they support the criminals in moving their “dirty” money and thus concealing (“washing”) its illegal origin.
Margrit B.* also became a “money mule”. The 66-year-old from the Thun area was contacted via Facebook in early 2022 by an alleged war general from Yemen, to whom she initially sent money for a plane ticket, a mobile phone and more. Finally, the man asked her to give him three bank details. Because Margrit B. only had one account, she opened two more on his behalf, including at Postfinance. She did this “despite warnings from bank employees and friends and her own doubts that it might be fraud”, as the Bern public prosecutor’s office states in her penalty order.
Traces lead to Benin
In addition, Margrit B. sent the man, whose name she did not know, a copy of her identity card. In this way, the perpetrators were able to link the Postfinance account to a Twint account. The associated Swiss cell phone number was registered to a person from the West African state of Benin. As a result, numerous transfers for products that were offered on Facebook Marketplace but never delivered flowed to the postal account.
For example, one of the victims was interested in an advertised graphics card and paid 750 francs into the postal account of the woman from Bern via Twint. Because the money allegedly didn’t arrive, the Facebook user made two more transactions on the other two accounts. In total, he transferred around 7,900 francs. In the eight cases listed in the penalty order, the perpetrators stole around 12,000 francs. The public prosecutor’s office also assumes that 28 other credits to Margrit B’s accounts are proceeds from fraudulent activities. A large part of this money was forwarded to unknown third parties, only a small part was reimbursed to the injured party.
Increase in suspicious activity reports
The public prosecutor is of the opinion that Margrit B. had to assume that she made her account available to criminals. She has therefore sentenced the pensioner to a fine of 1,600 francs for money laundering, which is conditionally postponed. However, she has to pay a fine and fees totaling CHF 1,950.
Margrit B. is by no means the only one: In 2021, the Money Laundering Reporting Office (MROS) received 205 judgments and penal orders in connection with previous MROS reports. This, in turn, is only a fraction of the 1,351 cases with “reasonable suspicion” that the reporting office forwarded to the cantonal public prosecutor’s office in the same year. In total, banks reported around 5,300 suspected cases in 2021. That is five times more than in 2011.
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