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Cyber Risks · Krebs on Security

Experienced Money Mule, Will Travel

Summary: Krebs on Security recounts a June 2011 online banking heist against Jackson Properties, in which thieves stole the firm's banking credentials and added a half dozen money mules from a gang called the Back Office group, operating under the front name AMR Company. One mule, Reginald, a 45-year-old Texas resident, was sent $4,910 to withdraw and wire overseas, and after the payment was blocked he told his recruiter he knew it was a scam, had worked with 'comrades from Russia' before, and asked for a 40 percent cut before the recruiter stopped responding.

Key Takeaway: The mule's own messages show he understood the scheme and volunteered more accounts, which is the intent that separates a witting launderer from a duped job seeker - yet Krebs notes mules are generally not prosecuted because that intent is hard to prove. The $4,910 transfer was stopped only because Jackson Properties detected the fraud and worked with its bank to reverse it, not by any control at the bank.

Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗

Topics
Data Breaches
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