This October, for Cyber Awareness Month, we’re launching Xposed, a series of insights into how fraud and cybercrime unfold, through real-life stories of people like you. Each story is a lesson, a warning, and a reminder that it could happen to anyone. Together, we reflect and spark conversations on raising awareness today, a task that cannot be separated from comprehensive fraud and cybercrime protection.
Even the most cautious among us can be drawn into online fraud, and combined schemes like romance scams and money mule operations show just how easily trust can be exploited. People of all ages can be manipulated into moving funds for criminals, sometimes without realizing the consequences until it is too late.
When romance turns into exploitation
The story we will reflect on today was originally shared by Stamp Out Scams, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about online fraud and scams, through their podcast. You can listen the episode The 80-Year-Old Money Mule: The Curious Case of Glenda here.
A woman in her 80s believed she was helping someone she trusted, a man she met online who claimed to be a U.S. citizen trapped abroad. At first, their connection seemed like a genuine romance, and she felt emotionally involved and cared for. It started with small requests, sending money, pawning electronics, and opening personal and business bank accounts. As the scam escalated, she began receiving transfers derived from other scams, with instructions to move the funds elsewhere. As a token of trust and gratitude, she was allowed to keep a small percentage of the funds she transferred.
Despite repeated law enforcement outreach, she continued, emotionally entangled and unaware of the full scope. The scammer’s expertise made every instruction seem reasonable, and by following them, she unknowingly played a key role in the criminal operation. When authorities finally intervened, she realized she had been part of laundering stolen money. The shock, disbelief, and overwhelming sense of shame were so strong that they initially prevented her from reporting the scam herself. She ultimately pled guilty to federal charges, highlighting the complex intersection of manipulation and accountability in online fraud.
The emotional pull of scammers
This case shows how carefully scammers plan their schemes. They gain trust gradually, making each request seem reasonable. Early actions appear harmless, but step by step, victims become part of a larger criminal operation. Small rewards, such as keeping a portion of transferred funds, are presented as legitimate compensation, making victims feel they are simply helping, rather than participating in a crime. While impersonation scams rely on urgency and move quickly, romance scams unfold over time, building an emotional connection that encourages victims to participate in the scheme. For this reason, they are often used as a basis for money mule activity.
Awareness is not enough
This story differs slightly from the previous one in terms of awareness. In this case, the victim was repeatedly warned about the situation, yet it was not enough, given her psychological vulnerability at the time. Romance scams are particularly insidious because they exploit loneliness, cognitive decline, and misplaced trust, turning empathy and generosity into vulnerabilities. They also align seamlessly with money mule dynamics, making it easier for scammers to use victims in financial schemes. This demonstrates that awareness is important, but not enough. A robust fraud prevention system should detect and stop money mule activity well before it can begin, preventing the scam from escalating over time.
How XTN detects Money Mules before they strike
Stopping money mules is not something even the most cautious user can manage alone. It requires precision, foresight, and the ability to act before fraud takes hold. XTN Cognitive Security Platform is built to shut down suspicious activity before criminals can exploit accounts. It provides robust, reliable protection that keeps both users and services safe.
XTN detects money mules both when new accounts are created and in existing active accounts. When a new account is opened, it verifies that the provided information is consistent, monitors for unusual behavior during onboarding, and detects signs of bots or malware. These early checks make it much harder for fraudsters to create mule accounts from the start.
For existing accounts, XTN builds a detailed behavioral profile and monitors incoming and outgoing payments for anomalies. By combining internal data with trusted external sources and information shared across federations, XTN can identify suspicious patterns that indicate money mule activity. Acting early allows the digital service to stop fraudsters in their tracks, protecting both users and the service itself.
Protecting users comes first
With the right systems in place, empathy, trust, and generosity do not have to become vulnerabilities. Stories like this teach us, raise awareness, and show that effective digital protection could make a real difference.
To learn more about how money mules operate and how to prevent them, download our detailed report on money mule activity and detection. Stay informed, protect your users, and help stop fraud before it starts.
Download the Money Mule White Paper
We hope Xposed gives you pause to reflect on how easily trust can be exploited online and how critical awareness is in today’s digital world. Take a moment this Cyber Awareness Month to review your own habits, question unexpected requests, and explore the tools and protections available to keep your accounts and devices safe.
But don’t stop there. Share what you learn with the people around you, parents, grandparents, friends, those who may not be scrolling LinkedIn but are often the first targets of fraudsters. Passing knowledge forward is one of the simplest, most powerful ways to protect the people we care about.
Stay informed, stay vigilant, and join the conversation. Check out our XTN solutions to see how advanced fraud and cyber-prevention systems can provide the safety net every digital user deserves.
