Criminals able to trick young people into using debit cards for fraud, money laundering

Nearly 10 percent of young people have been asked to lend their debit card or allow the use of their bank account by criminals. An estimated 70 percent them do not know that the chance of getting caught is high, according to the Dutch Banking Association (NVB), which surveyed 258 Dutch people aged 18 to 25.

Someone who lends a debit card or bank account to criminals is called a “money mule” by the authorities. Criminals try to extort and scam money from people in all sorts of ways, for example by posing as a bank employee, by starting a fraudulent online store or by asking for money while pretending to be someone else.

A well-known example is fraud via WhatsApp. Someone pretends to be a friend or family member in an emergency, and urgently asks for money. Criminals then have the money deposited into the money mule’s bank account and withdraw it in cash as soon as possible.

The banks are starting a campaign on Thursday to once again warn against this and other forms of fraud. “Many young people do not realize that the money in many cases comes directly from victims of online fraud, and that money mules can be held liable for the damage,” said Marco Doeland from the NVB.

“So you think you can easily earn 50 euros, but then have to spend years paying back thousands of euros.” Young people who lend out their account run the risk of adding incidents to their criminal record, and future exclusion from banking and financial services. It can be years before a known money mule can receive approval for opening a bank account.

Young people underestimate the chance of being caught, Doeland said. “If the victim of fraud reports to the bank or the police, the bank can immediately see to whom the money has been transferred. Then you will always get caught,” he said in a statement.

The police agree with that assessment, and said it was virtually a 100-percent guarantee that money mules in these types of cases will be caught. “If we investigate after a report of fraud or because we are on the trail of a fraudster, we very quickly gat to the money mule. That is a matter of ‘follow the money,’” said Iris Koster of the police unit investigating digital crimes.