With the pandemic and other factors triggering growth in — and new dimensions of — “money mule” scams, how what should bankers watch out for? On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by ServiceLink — two bank fraud and AML professionals share trends they’re seeing, including:

• Why money mules are increasingly seeking to open business accounts to move illicit cash
• The growing intersection of money mule scams and online romance scams
• How money mule victims, once informed by the bank that they’re likely involved in scam, move from unwitting participants to witting accomplices
• The increase in cryptocurrency angles on money mule scams
• Red flags that frontline bank staff should be on the lookout for
• How money mule fraudsters perpetuate multiple cycles of fraud with the same victims through “recovery scams”

View the ABA Foundation/FTC infographic on money mule scams.