Job advertisements promising quick money for little effort often refer to rather fraudulent activities. A popular scam the criminal investigation department warns against is the offer of a lucrative side job and job postings for financial agent, financial manager, escrow agent, financial transaction manager and numerous other similarly lofty terms.
What skillset does an applicant need to have to be qualified for a job as a financial manager? Specifically, none. He or she must hold a current account in the SEPA area and know how to make a bank transfer. With that the door is already wide open for a supposedly lucrative part-time job. In fact, however, it is a cover for fraudsters who have no other intention than to use the unsuspecting financial agent as a straw man, or so-called money mule for the transfer of funds abroad.
The task of the financial agent or money mule is to use his or her current account for transfers to third parties. For this purpose, funds are first transferred to the account of the financial agent, which the fraudsters have previously cheated from other victims, e.g. through phishing or fraudulent misdirection of payment orders. The unsuspecting financial agent shall then transfer the incoming amounts to third parties, usually to accounts abroad. For the transaction, the agent is allowed to keep between 5 to 20 percent "commission" of the transferred amounts.
For six-digit incoming payments, this really sounds like easy money. But the bitter awakening comes at the end: The financial agent has transferred the money amount and the money is gone. If victims then revoke the transfer, the financial agent must pay for the damage. Or the amount is reclaimed by deceived companies, which quickly realize that the money did not end up with the rightful recipient.
Through such scams the financial agent is not only robbed of his or her own money but is also threatened with criminal charges on suspicion of aiding and abetting money laundering, helping to conceal the origin and transfer channels of the money. Even reckless money laundering can result in fines or imprisonment of up to two years. In addition, BaFin may initiate proceedings against the financial agent for the unauthorized operation of financial services (i.e. financial transfers and transactions pursuant to section 1 para. 1 sentence 2 no. 6 ZAG).
Regularly, the account of the financial agent, including the agent’s own assets, is also seized by the public prosecutor's office to secure recourse claims. The financial agent’s own credit balance is often also affected because dispositions of one's own money during the existence of a seizure are only possible via assets that exceed the seized claim.
Financial agents who have fallen for fraudsters in good faith are therefore not only threatened with financial loss, but also with other legal sanctions such as public prosecutor's investigations, account seizure, civil action, and possibly fines issued by BaFin.
Scammers are creative when recruiting financial agents.. In addition to classic job advertisements, they also look for their victims on dating portals (romance scam) or make personal contact. It does not stop at fake declarations of love, engagements, and oaths of loyalty to gain indirect access to the IBAN of a victim. Generally, offers that include easy money should be treated with suspicion, especially if it involves tempting amounts of high commission payments.
In case someone becomes a victim of fraudsters, legal advice should be sought immediately. On the one hand, to save what can still be saved of one's own money, and on the other hand, to avert further legal consequences.
The content of this article is valid as at the date of its first publication. It is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter and does not constitute legal advice. We recommend that you seek professional advice on your specific matter before acting on any information provided. For further information or advice, please contact Benjamin Hasan, Partner at the Frankfurt office, via telephone at +49 69 247428444 or by email at benjamin.hasan@kyprianou.com
