The Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) considers that money mules are used, knowingly or unknowingly, by other people who either do not have their own bank accounts or wish to make a transaction invisible. People are recruited as money mules, being promised quick payments for the use of their banking account. One becomes a money mule when one allows the use of the banking account as the middleman for third party banking, thus being in breach of the contract of account with the bank.
While recruiting is sometimes at street level in South Africa, in other parts of the world much of it happens in cyber space. Random offers of quick money are provided in shopping centres and other public places, as well as online offers of jobs that promise easy money.
SAFPS mentioned it had been working closely with all the banks in order to ensure maximum security and awareness, so that they would take control of the growing fraud epidemic.
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