Do you know what a money mule is? Money mule refers to a person who transfers money and high-value goods obtained from one country to another through illegal means such as fraud through the internet, and the receiving country is usually the residence of the fraudster.
Recently, Singapore's Minister of the Interior, Josephine Teo (hereinafter referred to as "Teo"), mentioned in an opening speech the phishing fraud case targeting overseas Chinese bank customers. The case occurred between December 2021 and January 2022, resulting in approximately 790 victims losing $13.7 million in this fraud, and over 120 local bank accounts in Singapore were used to receive victim funds（ acting as' money mules).
A few months ago, there were media reports that five Chinese people in Singapore inexplicably became "money mules". One of them is the owner of a nail salon. As she was about to remit money to her Chinese relatives, she remembered the remittance advertisement she had seen before, which stated that when the exchange rate was 4.85, the remittance could be made at 4.95. The nail salon owner found the advertisement and followed the instructions to transfer 110000 family accounts. When relatives confirmed that they wanted to withdraw money, they found that the account was frozen. The reason for the freeze is that the police suspect that the funds are involved in a fraud case. Afterwards, the nail salon owner went to find a remittance intermediary, but the intermediary claimed that their operating procedures were normal and that the account freeze had nothing to do with them. Soon after, they lost contact.
In the money mule case of Overseas Chinese Bank, the Singaporean authorities are currently only able to file lawsuits against 9 of them. Teo explained that the current legal restrictions in Singapore make it difficult to pursue money mules, and the authorities must prove that the money mule suspect knew in advance that the funds traded through his bank account were related to criminal activities.
There is a loophole in this, "Teo said." Money mules can incite account holders to lie and simply evade prosecution without knowledge. Money mules don't have to pay any price in this process, they are willing to do so. Teo said that there have been instances where Singpass users have sold their bank accounts, but have told authorities that these accounts have been abused by others.
The Ministry of the Interior (MHA) and the Digital Government Office (SNDGO) of Singapore have revealed that between 2020 and 2022, the police investigated over 19000 money mules. But due to legal loopholes, less than 250 people have been prosecuted.
Ms. Teo said that since 2018, Singapore has suffered nearly $2 billion in losses due to such fraud; In 2021, money mule fraud caused losses of $77.2 billion worldwide.
