Bogus job offer fishes for mules

A Web site attempting to lure people into money laundering scams has been outed by security firm PandaLabs.

The company has issued an alert about the Web site that has been issuing mass emails advertising a bogus part-time job for an NGO. With headings like, “Best Job No Experience Needed” the mails ask people to visit a Web site that passes itself off as a charitable organisation helping under-privileged children. In reality, the site is hoping to turn them into mules for money laundering.

PandaLabs said that if users contact the fraudsters through the form on the Web site for this purpose, the fraudsters will reply, giving them more details about the job.

This involves receiving money, which is generally wired to bank accounts that the fraudsters can access by stealing confidential details using techniques like phishing.

“These fraudsters are not only looking for someone to launder the money, but also for a scapegoat, who the authorities will go after when the owner of the bank account they have cleaned out realises what has happened,” explained Luis Corrons, director of PandaLabs.

“In this case, the minimum that the bank can demand is that the runner pay back all the stolen money, that is apart from other legal action that can be taken, which could even mean a prison sentence.”

He added: “If users have provided any data such as their name, bank account number etc., we advise them to immediately inform the authorities in order to avoid problems. Bear in mind that with a simple personal identification number, these criminals can, for example, open bank accounts to carry out illegal activities, stealing the identity of the person who has provided these details. "