Need help to determine if this is a real company

I was recently contacted by a person via email regarding a possible work from home position. I am familiar with the basic understanding of a scam, and even now, I am skeptical. However, during any and all correspondence, never was fund transfers or receivable goods ever mentioned. To my understanding this position was for ad placement and market research. They wanted me to sign a contract, and this seemed rather peculiar. I have several emails with names, phone numbers, email addresses, and even the contract they wanted me to sign.

This is the original email I received:

[email protected]

Dear *** *** ***,

My name is Christine Chase, HR Manager for Four Ways Out Logistics, Inc.
We are a shipping company based in Sweden, Stockholm with 16 branches located worldwide. Our US branch is in Seattle, WA
Your resume posted on Careerbuilder caught our attention.
Four Ways Out Logistics, Inc. is currently looking for a candidate to full fill an entry-level position of our Regional Media Assistant.
Therefore, we are pleased to extend the following offer of employment to you contingent on the successful completion of your background screening.
Four Ways Out Logistics, Inc. is a shipping company. Since 2004 we have been working mainly in Scandinavia, EU and the UK, but last year was our year in the U.S. when we established one of the offices here in Seattle, WA.
Vacancy overview
- Title: Regional Media Assistant
- Type: P-T with progress to F-T
- Industry: Media/accounting ! NO SALES INVOLVED !
- Location: Home based
Important! There are NO start-up fees, no personal investments are required!
Responsibilities:
- Advertisement placement
- Bills payments processing
We offer a flexible work schedule with 15-20 hours p/w workload and a full paid training.
Terms and Conditions:
Income: Salary + Commission
Salary $1,000.00 during a probationary and $2,000.00 afterwards.
Commissions about 500$ per week
Please attach your detailed resume and contact information to reply. Thank you.



Second email, after I replied:

Dear *** *** ***

Thank you for showing your interest in our company.
We are a shipping company based in Sweden, Stockholm, with 16 branches located worldwide. Our US branch is in Seattle, WA
Please, visit our web site to learn about us at http://www.4waysout.com
Based on your resume we would like to offer you the position of our Regional Media Assistant, since your skills and experience meet our requirements. Our regional media assistant position is conducive to the development of talents and skills; this is an interesting and challenging occupation which gives a stable extra income and helps to obtain new connections
Please, find the description of the position below. If you find the position interesting to yourself, please send your reply to my business email address [email protected]
----------------------------------------
Position Title:
Regional Media Assistant
Job Type:
Part-Time (15-20 hours per week)
Employee
Location:
Home based
Experience:
0.6+
Industries:
Media
Marketing
(!!!) No Sales (!!!)
Pay:
Salary $2,000.00 + Commissions (about $ 500 weekly, what depends on the availability of a RMA)
For the first ninety calendar days, i.e. probationary period, the salary is $1,000.00+ Commissions (about $500 weekly, what depends on the availability of a RMA.)
Benefits:*
Sick Leave
Vacation and Personal Days
*Effective upon satisfactory completion of the first 90 calendar days of employment.
Tax Withholding:
W4 & W2
Hours of work:
Flexible for the Advertisement Placement; However, must be available during banking hours two-three times a week to do the bill payments processing
Duties and Responsibilities
1. Advertisement Placement:
Doing researches into local media markets
File the results of the researches
Forward the results of researches to us;
2. Processing of bills payments:
Sending us reports or receipts with the details of completed payments;
In detail about the advertising:
Prior to the placement of an ad, our regional media assistants have to conduct a research into their local media, i.e. find out costs, terms plus must obtain some general information about their local media outlets. It is us who decide what media to choose for advertising purposes. Thus, regional media assistants are not responsible for making such decisions. After we make a decision, regional media assistants are being informed of our choice. From this moment, regional media assistant have to arrange the placement of our ad(s), of course, after we provide them with everything they need, i.e. money and ad(s).
Bill Payments Processing:
Same as for the placement of the ads, the necessary amount of money is provided beforehand. Every payment is supported by detailed instruction where all calculation, the reason, and all other necessary details are included. At the first stages of the probationary period, the payments must be processed via money transmitting companies, i.e. Western Union/MoneyGram and so on. After regional media assistants gain some experience and we understand that we can entrust to them larger amounts, the payments must be processed electronically as an on-line wire transfer/direct deposit, what is much more convenient and more profitable, but at the same time requires higher level of responsibility.
----------------------------------------
Our standard contractual agreement must be signed prior to start.
If you accept this position, your hire date will be on the day when you start the training.
Training
The training starts either on the same business day, or by the next business day by your choice after you receive the signed copy of our contract. It is done on-line, lasts three business days taking about an two hours per day.
The training is more a research activity rather than doing on-line tests or a studying anything on-line. The results of the research would have to be sent to me by the end of the business days of a Regional Manager Assistant. Everyone works accordingly to their local time. The training is paid. The 1st of your training is your 1st day of work
We want to believe that you find this occupancy interesting to yourself.
To discuss this position in a detail, please contact me via email or by a phone number provided below during my business hours. I will gladly answer your questions.
---------------
P.S.
If you are interested could you send your reply to my business email address, please?
[email protected]
Warmest Wishes,
Christine Chase
HR Manager/Staff Supervisor
HR Department, Four Ways Out Logistics, Inc.
http://www.4waysout.com
Contacts
Phone number: 206.923.9133
Fax: 206.260.2760
Main Email: [email protected]
Additional Email: [email protected]
Business hours:
9am-3pm PST Monday through Thursday
9am-1pm PST Fridays

Next email:

So, before I send you the necessary paperwork, you have to choose an option from the list below, because your choice will determine the initial percent of your commission. After the probationary period we will automatically increase the % of your commission by 5.
If you need a clarification after the review of the options, do not hesitate to let me know, please.
--------------------------------------
Since our company provides its assistants with necessary funds upfront, you need to let us know how it will be convenient for you to receive the funds from our company by choosing an option form the lits below.
***Please, make sure to read footnotes upon the review of the options***
Option A. New checking bank account/ NO on-line access 3%*
Option B. New checking bank account/ WITH on-line access provided 3.5%*
Option C. Current (no less than 6 months) checking bank account/ NO on-line access 3.5%
Option D. Current (no less than 6 months) checking bank account/ WITH on-line access 4%**
Option E. Current business checking bank account/ NO on-line access 5%
________________

We accept the following banks to work with:***

Bank of America
Wells Fargo
First National
US Bank
Key Bank
TCF Bank
SunTrust Bank
Citi Bank
TD Bank
HSBC Bank USA
____________
* newly opened bank account should not be of a zero balance. Leave from five to ten dollars in it.
** we will be accept your choice if only all of your personal money is removed from the account, however, it should still have positive balance, 5-10 dollars.
*** if none of these banks work for you, email me the list of your local banks. I will reply you with our decision same business day.
Difference between the options
Option A. New checking bank account/ NO on-line access 3%*
Option B. New checking bank account/ WITH on-line access provided 3.5%*
for these two options the difference is that in the first case an assistant does not have to provide the on-line access of his/her new bank account to us. The new account has to be opened specifically for this job.
in the second case they have to.
Option C. Current (no less than 6 months) checking bank account/ NO on-line access 3.5%
Option D. Current (no less than 6 months) checking bank account/ WITH on-line access 4%**
for these two options the difference is that in the first case an assistant does not have to provide the on-line access of his/her current existing bank account to us.
in the second case they have to.
Option E. Current existing (only) business checking bank account/ NO on-line access 5%
Warmest Wishes,
Christine Chase
HR Manager/Staff Supervisor
HR Department, Four Ways Out Logistics, Inc.
http://www.4waysout.com
Contacts
Phone number: 206.923.9133
Fax: 206.260.2760
Main Email: [email protected]
Additional Email: [email protected]
Business hours:
9am-3pm PST Monday through Thursday
9am-1pm PST Fridays


Last email including contracts they wanted signed:

The paperwork is attached to this email.
Please, use your keyboard to fill out the papers, apart from the portions where your signature is required.
Put your handwritten signature on the following documents:
1. Contractual agreement
2. Pages 3 and 4 of the contracts supplement;
____________________________________________
In order to send everything back to me, you may either use a fax, or send by email. I prefer email for the better quality.
_
As soon as I receive the contracts signed by you, I will immediately forward the documents to our Head Office.
By the next business day you will receive them signed by our Director.
_
The training starts on the same business day when you receive the papers, or by the next business day by your choice.
_
On the same business day when you receive the signed documentation from us, you will be required to send us the scan of your Drivers License, but only after you receive the contracts signed by our Director
Warmest Wishes,
Christine Chase
HR Manager/Staff Supervisor
HR Department, Four Ways Out Logistics, Inc.
http://www.4waysout.com
Contacts
Phone number: 206.923.9133
Fax: 206.260.2760
Main Email: [email protected]
Additional Email: [email protected]
Business hours:
9am-3pm PST Monday through Thursday
9am-1pm PST Fridays
THIS AGREEMENT dated _______________2012 between Mr. Gerhard Bentzer, Director of Four Ways
Out Logistics, Inc., located at Stureplan 4c, Stockholm 114 35, Sweden (the "Director")

And (Regional Media Assistant’s full name) ___________________________________________
Sex ____
Date of Birth_____________
Regional Media Assistant’s full address
_______________________________________________________________________________
(The "Regional Media Assistant")
IN CONSIDERATION of the mutual covenants and conditions hereinafter set forth and for other good and
valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties agree as
follows:
FINANCIAL ASPECTS
Regional Media Assistant up to 8% based on scale commission (see Appendix A)
Four Ways Out Logistics, Inc. up to 92% based on scale commission (see Appendix A)
Salary is $1,000.00 during the period of probation. After the period of probation, the salary is $2,000.00 per
month.
Benefits include medical, paid holidays and vacation. Seminars and trainings at the expense of the company.
1. Director hereby appoints Regional Media Assistant as its Regional Media Assistant for the purposes of as
described below as Director instructs, and Regional Media Assistant does hereby accept such appointment
and agrees to act as such Regional Media Assistant in accordance with the terms and conditions of this
Agreement.
2. This Agreement shall be in effect as of the date set forth above. Notwithstanding the foregoing, either party
shall have the right to terminate this Agreement at any time upon giving fifteen (15) days notice, in writing to
the other party.
3. Regional Media Assistant shall, on behalf of and at the direction of Director:
(a) Provide financial services including account receivables, money management, and funds transfer services
related to sales of products and services of Director's Company.
(b) Perform any and all other services and activities (including negotiations related thereto and payment
therefore) (A) reasonably ancillary to any and all of the foregoing activities or (B) agreed to in writing by and
between Director and Regional Media Assistant.
4. Regional Media Assistant shall treat all information and specifications regarding the above product under
this Agreement as confidential proprietary information of Director and use its best efforts to ensure against
disclosure to third parties.
5. Regional Media Assistant may assign or contract all or any part of its rights and obligations under this
agreement to third parties without the Director prior written concern. All contractors employed by the
Regional Media Assistant shall, however, be bound by the terms and conditions of this agreement.
6. Director shall sell its products and services and as compensation for the services to be rendered by
Regional Media Assistant under this Agreement, pay to Regional Media Assistant a scale based commissions
(see Appendix A) of the value of all trading contracts entered into by Director through Regional Media
Assistant.
7. Normal out-of-pocket expenses such as bank or wire transfer fees are to be paid by Director.
8. Regional Media Assistant shall open a new banking account for our cooperation only.
9. Director has right to require to close the current banking account as soon as practicable to keep
the interests of his clients.
10. Director has right of service recommendation to the Regional Media Assistant of specific financial
institutions (e.g. banks) based on Regional Media Assistant geographical location and other preferences.
In case Director has no specific recommendation for the bank, Regional Media Assistant is free to select
the FDIC insured bank of own choice provided following information to the Director: bank name, routing

number, account number.
11. Regional Media Assistant shall have no authority to bind Director except upon written order or
authorization by Director. It is further understood that Regional Media Assistant shall at all times during the
continuance of this Agreement use its best efforts to protect the interests of Director.
12. The relationship hereby created is not exclusive and that Regional Media Assistant hereby certifies that it
has no ownership, financial interest in, or any control of, the agencies or other parties from which products or
services are procured under, and that no part of any payments under this Agreement shall inure to the benefit
of any such agency or other party. No part of any payment made directly from Director to an agency, other
party or their respective Regional Media Assistants will ensure to the benefit of Regional Media Assistant
through rebate, offset, or other means and Regional Media Assistant will receive no financial benefit, in any
form, from such parties attributable to the transactions covered by this Agreement.
13. At all times, during the term of this Agreement, Regional Media Assistant shall maintain complete and
accurate books and records with respect to its services hereunder, including, but not limited to, copies of
Director's orders, copies of Regional Media Assistant’s supporting documentation and payment documents.
Director shall have the right to inspect and/or obtain copies of Regional Media Assistant’s books and records
with respect to Regional Media Assistant’s services pursuant to this Agreement.
14. This Agreement shall, in all respects, be interpreted, construed, and governed by the laws of the country
in which Regional Media Assistant is located.
15. This Agreement sets forth all prior terms, conditions, and agreements under which the parties hereto have
operated beginning from that date. Any other agreement between the parties hereto pertaining to the same
subject matter is hereby superseded and terminated.
16. This Agreement is sets forth the entire agreement between the parties relating to the subject matter hereof
and stands in the place of any previous agreement, whether oral or in writing. The parties agree that no
amendment to this Agreement shall be binding upon the parties unless it is in writing and executed by both
parties.
17. This Agreement shall ensure to the benefit of and be binding upon the respective heirs, executors,
administrators and assigns of each of the parties hereto.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement hereto as of the date first above written.

Director

By: Gerhard Bentzer, Director, Four Ways Out Logistics, Inc.

Signature:____________________________

Date:______________

Witness:_____________________________

Date:______________

Regional Media Assistant

By: ___________________________Regional Media Assistant

Signature:_____________________________

Date:______________

Witness:______________________________

Date:______________

APPENDIX A

Agreement's supplement regarding Option “C”

Our Company respects your privacy and never asks you for any personal or other type of sensitive
information.
Regional Media Assistant shall provide in terms of two business days the following information

1) Bank link: http://www.____________________________ ... __________
Account number:

Routing number
(Wires):

Account holder: (as it appears on your bank card):

______________________________________________________________________

Address(es) of the local branch(es):

______________________________________________________________________

The initial percentage of Regional Media Assistant’s commission is 8%.
Trial period finishes in 90 (ninety) calendar days.
After the trial period, the percent of Regional Media Assistant’s commission is up to 13%.
Having signed this agreement Regional Media Assistant shall perform cashing and transferring money in the
day of payments accessibility on the account.
Staff Manager has right to fine the Regional Media Assistant in case of non-observance of hereby
prescription, if Regional Media Assistant’s activity/inactivity has bad influence on the terms or material
inputs of the client. The penalty amount is 30% of Regional Media Assistant’s commission for current
operation.
The Company shall have the right to terminate this Agreement unilaterally in case of Regional Media
Assistant’s dissatisfactory execution of assign duties during the trial period.

Regional Media Assistant’s home phone number _________________________________

Regional Media Assistant’s cell phone number _______________________________

Regional Media Assistant Signature

I have included a lot of information, but I want to know for sure whether or not I am dealing with a legitimate opportunity, or just a very detailed and elaborate scam.

in my opinion everything looks more or less legit. they do not want you to transfer monies, neither need they your address to send you stolen packages, right? as to me these guys look legit.
need to send them my resume

Hello BulldogsZ71!

This is a scam!

Key points.

They originally contacted you from [email protected] no legitimate buisness is going to use a free email address. The reason the scammer does is so thier domain named email address [email protected] is not reported as spam.

They claim to have been in buisness since 2004 but their wesite was created 7/8/2011 and only registered for the minimum one year registration common for scammers fake sites as they are often reported and shut down.

This is just a fake check or money mule scam disguised as a "Ad Placement" job.

Processing of bills payments:

At the first stages of the probationary period, the payments must be processed via money transmitting companies, i.e. Western Union/MoneyGram and so on.

They will send you fake checks for "payments' and have you cash them and wire the money back to them via Western Union. Eventually the bank will report the checks were fake and you will have to pay all the money back including the money you sent to the scammer.

Or they will have other victims deposit money in your bank account and have you wire the "payments" essentially using you to launder money.

Real buisnesses do not use Western Union to conduct buisness.

Did you get an email from [email protected]? If so can you post it with the headers? You can go to this site to learn how to find email headers http://www.ip-adress.com/faq/view_email_header/

This will help with the getting the fake site shut down.
Justin

in my opinion everything looks more or less legit. they do not want you to transfer monies, neither need they your address to send you stolen packages, right? as to me these guys look legit.
need to send them my resume

I've just changed my mind

I never received an email from [email protected], and when I attempted to write to that email address, it came back delivery failed. I did contact her at that number, and spoke to her, but the number listed on the website doesn't work. thanks though for the prompt reply.

To add to what Justin said, sometimes scammers will use victims to place their ads, as some classified sites have put some controls/verification (IP checks, requiring legitimate addresses, verifiable phone numbers, etc.) in place to reduce the number of scam ads.

Those ads would all be placed for the purpose of stealing money, and placing them would also make you an accomplice to their crimes.

Hi BulldogsZ71

I have been with the company for almost two years by now and yeah, I am more than satisfied with my job, duties and pay! And I really do not see why there is so much ungrounded accusations!

BulldogsZ71
if you'd like to talk it over with me, I'd be happy to do this!

ADMIN NOTE: This post was made by a scammer in an attempt to make the scam posted here seem more legitimate. We have left this post here to show just how far these low-life scammers will go in an attempt to steal from innocent people.

Wow Astrophil, that's pretty impressive--working for a company over a year before it actually existed!

We don't take kindly to scammers signing up here--any attempts to do so again will be quickly addressed.

I wish I saw this 2 weeks ago! It DEFINITELY is a scam.... my boyfriend decided to try this out because of medical issues he couldn't leave the house so this was one of his only options. The first month was great, he honestly didn't do all that much and received the pay he said he was going to. And that was the end of that- he continued to do the work they gave him, but he never received another dime from them. He has called the company day in and day out looking for "Christine" and can't get a hold of anyone. Stay far far away from this company!

Hello TSratton22,

Sorry to hear your boyfriend was targeted by this scammer.

Unfortunately the pay he did receive was from stollen funds. If he recieved and cashed checks those were fake which the bank will eventually catch and he will be responsible for re-paying all the money back. If this is the case it may be best to print out the emails and go to the bank to explain the situation. It will be in his favor to explain before it is found out. Especially if it was several checks.

These scammers also sometimes ask their victims to receive money in their bank accounts and ask the victim to send a portion or all of it to them. In this case the money deposited in the account is money from other fraud victims. Essentially the scammer uses the victim to launder money. If the situation was similar to this it is very important that he keeps all of the correspondence with the scammer. He could possible face legal charges as the scammer lead the money trail to your boyfriend not the scammer himself.

I'm not trying to scare you just want to give you all the information it's troublesome that you say he actually recieved pay. These scammers do not spend their own money so it's guaranted to have come from iligal means.


Justin

Question! He didn't actually receive any checks... the money was just deposited into his account from them, so there's no paper trail or anything like that. What should he do in that case?

[AlanJones]

His bank should be able to track where/how the payments were actually credited to his account (they may actually have been fake cheques paid in by the scammer).

As Justin says, what he should do is print off all the communications that he received from the scammer, as these should show that he was acting in good faith and performing what he thought was a legitimate job. He should then take those emails to the bank along with the details of the credits that he suspects are fraudulent.

It might also be an idea for him to also go to the police and report that he has been a victim of a scam, rather than waiting for them to come looking for him when the complaints about him receiving the funds come in.

I have once again removed pointless posts from a visiting troll. We are talking about someone’s future here, and it certainly isn't the time or place to troll or post insulting, confrontational tripe and attempt to call it "debate.” Further irresponsible, trolling posts will also be removed.

I am going to reiterate the key points here.

1) This is a definite scam.
2) All money transferred into the “employee” account is stolen.
3) By withdrawing and transferring this money, the “employee” becomes a “money mule.” He or she is involved in laundering money, which is a serious crime.
4) You have stated that your boyfriend did not deposit any checks, but the scammer deposited money into his account. As Alan pointed out, that deposit could still involve a fake check—the scammers obviously have some of his account information—depending on what information they have, they could potentially deposit a fake check themselves (all it takes is login information and a camera phone to deposit a check with some banks). Or, the money could have been transferred from a victim’s account. As Alan stated, the bank will have a record of how the money was deposited. That does not mean that the bank will share originating account information with him, just that they do know whether they were check deposits, balance transfers, etc.
5) There is a very good chance that the fraud will be identified down the road. I have written a much more detailed summary in the long post below that explains the most common scenarios, and why it is often not detected immediately.
6) Assuming the fraud is identified and the originating bank takes steps to reverse the deposit, the bank will hold your boyfriend responsible. Just as a traveler is responsible for his own suitcases at the airport, the owner of a bank account is responsible for ensuring that deposits into that account are legitimate. This is true whether there is theft involved or not—the same thing would be true even If it were a clerical error. For example, if a computer mistake led to $5000 being added to your account that doesn’t belong there, and you spend that $5,000 you will be responsible for paying that money back when the error is discovered and reversed—plus an inevitable set of penalties/fees.
7) If the deposit is reversed, the bank will most likely take the money out of your boyfriend's account. If it does not have enough money, the bank will go after him for the money—plus overdraft fees for any and all checks bounced as a result of the withdrawal, and possibly additional fees for the fraudulent transaction. Banks actually have a lot of leeway when it comes to how they handle these situations. MOST banks (I won’t say all, there are exceptions out there) are willing to work with a customer who was clearly being proactive and trying to make things right. They probably won’t forgive the debt, but they will reduce fees, possibly set up payment plans, and won’t pursue criminal charges. They may allow the victim to continue banking with them. On the other hand, if the bank has ANY reason to believe a mule was aware of what he was doing, or that he tried to get away with something, they will hit that person with every fee/penalty imaginable, charge exorbitant amounts for overdrafts, do some serious damage to his credit record, and ban the person from banking with them again (yes, these are all perfectly legal actions.) And, they are much more likely to push for criminal charges. This is why Justin and Alan advised going to the bank, plain and simple. I’m not going to lie—there are cases in which the fraud is never identified—but clearly, it would be irresponsible of us to suggest that it is wise to gamble your future on the odds that it won’t happen.

Someone who receives and forwards money to another party is known as a “mule.” Money that is transferred to a mule’s bank account will likely come from one of two sources.

1) The money comes from hacking or phishing bank accounts or credit cards. Have you ever received a "phishing" email that asked you to enter login or account information into a fake website? The creators of these sites collect sensitive account information from thousands of users. Or instead of phishing, a hacker may simply gain access to a database holding account information for thousands of consumers. This account information will be used by the hacker or sold to other criminals. Either way, the criminals will take the stolen account information and use it to buy merchandise, or turn it into cash. This is where the mule’s account comes in. A criminal will take the information available to him to steal money from the victim and deposit it into the mule’s bank account. He could do this by writing fraudulent checks, taking out credit card advances, or simply by logging in and transferring money, depending on what information is available to him.

2) In the second scenario, the scammer is actively conning victims into wiring money directly into the mule’s account. This may occur in something like a rental scam, where the victim thinks he/she is wiring a deposit to a future landlord, or a scam in which the victim thinks he/she is buying an expensive item the scammer has advertised, or even a romance scam, in which a victim thinks he/she is helping out their future spouse.


In either case, if the criminal wants to steal a lot of money, he has to do it carefully or risk alerting the bank or customer and triggering additional security measures. If he takes (or demands) too much money in one payment or cleans out the account, he runs the risk of causing an overdraft or crossing an bank transaction or transfer limit, which could prevent him getting the money. So the criminal usually needs to steal the money in smaller transactions--and the easiest way to do this is through other bank accounts. This is where mules come in. He gains access to other bank accounts by recruiting several mules, usually through fake jobs or romance scams. (In reality, there is NO such thing as a legitimate job receiving and forwarding money—and doing this as a personal favor for anyone you have only met online is going to lead you straight into trouble.) The criminal may recruit dozens of mules for a single theft, if there is a lot of money to be transferred.

There are several elements that are very common in mule recruiting scams.
The “job” duties will be online only, and the criminal will offer what is in reality a fairly high pay for little work. The criminal may conduct “interviews” but they will most likely be online, occasionally by phone, never in person. He may assign some bogus “training tasks” to make the offer seem more legitimate. The job offer will come quickly, often during the “interview” itself, and checks may be sent or transfers initiated within hours of “hiring” because the longer it takes, the more likely the fraud will be discovered and transactions prevented. Criminals will often “pad” the job duty list with additional (fake) duties, to make the money transferring role seem like a small part of a bigger job. They may require mules use certain banks, or he may offer more money for certain types of accounts, or older, “established” accounts. Why this last one? Because as mentioned above, banks often have transfer limits—a maximum amount that can be transferred in a single transaction—and some banks have higher limits than others, so they are preferred. In addition, established and/or business accounts are typically going to allow larger transfers than new personal accounts. The criminal is offering a bigger cut for these accounts because he can transfer more money through them.

So how can the bank say the transaction is fine, and later go after the mule? In the case of a stolen account, if the account has a lot of money or a high credit limit, and the security breach hasn’t been detected, the transfer will be successful. The problems won’t start until the account owner notices unauthorized withdrawals and files a fraud report with his/her bank. This may take a while, especially if it is a shared or business account. If the victim wired the money, the theft won't be reported until the victim realizes he/she has been conned--this can happen quickly, but it can also take months, depending on the type of scam. For example, a victim who wires money for a future vacation rental may not recognize the scam until he/she actually arrives and discovers there is no apartment. A romance victim may remain for months in the fake relationship, continuing to believe the lies and even sending more money, before he/she catches on. In the case of a romance scam, a victim may never report the crime if he/she is too embarrassed or ashamed

Why doesn’t the criminal use his own bank accounts? Well, for starters, he may not be able to open an account with a major bank himself. Even if he could, if he is from another country and has no verifiable credit history, his transactions will be monitored more closely, and the account will probably have more restrictions. After one or two questionable transactions, the bank will shut the account down or reverse the transactions, possibly before he manages to take out the money. Even worse, if the crime is reported and the authorities do investigate, the trail will lead straight to the criminal, and he risks being arrested.

On the other hand, if the criminal uses a mule, he eliminates most of the risk for himself. All the criminal has to do is go to WU and pick up the cash. When the fraud is discovered, the trail will lead to the mule, and it is the mule’s bank account the money will be seized from. The criminal, who is likely in another country, has used a fake name, address, etc. so there is no trail to him. The mule, on the other hand, is guilty of money laundering—and he/she can be arrested and charged with a serious crime, because as the account owner, he or she is responsible for ensuring that deposits are from legitimate sources.

Worse yet, if the bank and/or law enforcement believe that the mule was a knowing accomplice (i.e., he/she knew the transaction was some kind of scam), chances are good that they WILL go after the mule, at best leaving the mule in serious debt with a ruined credit rating; at worst landing him/her in jail. On the other hand, if they believe the mule was a victim who has done their best to resolve the situation, they are much more likely to grant the victim leniency (and allow them to pay off any debts gradually). This is why we stress that it is important to be proactive if you have cashed a check or participated in a transfer.

Here is a good article about mules: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/hackers-target-the-unemployed-as-money-mules-08042011.html Again, note the following statement from the article:

The mules rarely face prosecution, so long as law enforcement believes they were duped