A Money Mule is a person who electronically transfers money acquired illegally on behalf of others, obtaining a commission for it. The illegal cash often originates from criminal activities such as phishing, malware attacks, eCommerce fraud, CEO fraud, to name but a few.
A mule could be:
- a fraudster
- a person consciously colluded with a fraudster
- a “person defrauded” by a fraudster
- a compromised account
Money Mule accounts are banking accounts that Money Mules use to move illicit funds. Those accounts could be related to money laundering.