What can my friend do. really difficult situation

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Hello I'm New here! Joined: 20 Jul 2016 Posts: 1

My friend has told me to write this on her behalf, she is a single parent and was looking for job online when someone mailed her and offered her a job as a virtual assistant and to work from home and with a good pay. She was meant to start yesterday and they had her bank details in order to pay her "salary" they then told her that they had transferred money into her account and that she needs to confirm if she has received it. She opened her account and found £20000, she was so shocked and called me I told her this was very suspicious but I did not know about money mules, anyway they now want her to transfer the money to someone else and to make sure it is cleared in her bank before she sends it to someone else. After researching this I realised she is in a dangerous situation and told her to call her bank to reverse the payment and to block them and never contact them again however her boyfriend told her to just keep the money and to block them. What should sh do in this situation?
thanks in advance

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 7:05 pm

keteri wrote:

I realised she is in a dangerous situation and told her to call her bank to reverse the payment and to block them and never contact them again

A wise thing to do.

Quote:

her boyfriend told her to just keep the money and to block them.

Tell her to get a better boyfriend.

OK, that was harsh, but wow. He does not realize that he is encouraging her to commit a crime (and a major one, considering the amount here) that will probably land her in a huge trouble?

Quote:

What should sh do in this situation?

We are no authorities here: we only bait scammers and know a bit too much about different scams that exist. But we are laymen and ordinary citizens with no special rights. Therefore my suggestion would be along the lines of what you have already done: contact the bank and work with them. Maybe inform the police too just to be on the safe side and try not to get in trouble with money laundering and muling charges. They are the people who can offer your friend best help in this situation.

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 7:19 pm

Definitely have your friend contact her bank IMMEDIATELY!

I have seen this type of scam before, and in all likelihood this money has been stolen from someone. If your friend keeps the money, or even transfers it back to the scammer, she could be held liable for the entire amount AND potentially face criminal consequences.

Additionally, your friend should drop all contact with the scammer and should be prepared to change email and bank accounts.

This is serious.

ETA: Contacting the bank should not get your friend in trouble, especially if nothing has been done with the deposit. Your friend was innocently pursuing what appeared to be a legitimate employment opportunity.

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 8:18 pm

Your friend has a smart friend. And a shitty boyfriend.

She should contact the bank and law enforcement. She has done nothing wrong, but if she hesitates there will be problems.

Please provide her with the advice we are giving you.

One more thing.

Sit down with her and tell her how much you value your friendship. If she wants a man he should earn it. Not steal it.

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 8:31 pm

Contact the fraud department at the bank. Don't talk to J. Random Teller. Do not withdraw any money for any reason until the fraudulent money is sent back where it came from.

Post all emails or other messages from the scammer at Scamwarners, with the email address they were sent from and the Reply-to header if different. This will help others avoid the same scammer. Redact her name, address, and account number.

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 8:36 pm

As you can see from above, we are certainly not authorities, although it appears relationship advice is excluded. Rolling Eyes

A scam resource site like www.scamwarners.com is the perfect place for your friend to get help, with your support. As was mentioned, have her contact her bank, immediately. This should be her first step to alleviate any consequences. Explain to them what has happened. Unfortunately, they have seen this before and know how to deal with it.

Baiting Guru Joined: 10 Oct 2010 Posts: 3877

I agree with the postings above.

your friend and the sender of that money are both victims of a scam. your friend was recruited as a mule to handle transfers from victims to scammers.

the way out in my opinion is:

1. contact scamwarners (as mentioned)
2. contact law enforcement
3. contact the banks fraud department.

their steps should be: contact the sender of the money, and that the sender is victim of a scam. the money (and future payments) should be deposited on an escrow account, so that the victims can reclaim their money.

and then hope, that law enforcement finds someone in that gang and their victims to send back the money.

Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2016 4:50 pm

All of the above is excellent advice. And the reason is, if the money was stolen from another account or money from another scam victim, then your friend is involved in wire fraud, which is a federal offense in every Country I know of. The good news is that, as long as she gets in front of this and cooperates with her bank, she can demonstrate that she is a victim rather than a perp. Just keeping the money could very well have the opposite effect.

Baiting Guru Joined: 10 Oct 2010 Posts: 3877

Quote:

then your friend is involved in wire fraud

but as long as she does not cooperate with the fraudsters, that friend should be safe.

she should cooperate with law enforcement, and a lawyer might be helpful too, just to be safe (she hasn't done anything wrong yet, but she is currently the only one accessible to the scam-victims).

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