Lloyds Bank warns customers aged 19 to 40 over accounts 'being closed'
Lloyds Bank has issued a warning to people who have bank accounts and are aged between 19 and 40. It comes after new data showed nearly a quarter (24%) of money mule accounts belong to customers aged 19 to 25 and over half (58%) belong to a customer aged between 19 and 40.
However, in recent years, there has been an increase in older people becoming money mules. The latest Lloyds Bank data shows 19% of money mule accounts are held by customers over 40, a growth of an astonishing 73% over the last year.
To avoid becoming a money mule, Lloyds said: "Never receive and send money through your account on behalf of others or give anyone control of your account to do so themselves. Remember no legitimate company or investment scheme will ask you to use your own bank account to transfer their money.
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"Be cautious of unsolicited offers promising easy money, especially on social media, which is a key ‘hunting ground’ for mule recruiters. Remember it’s not just strangers that can fool you into becoming a money mule – if a friend or family member unexpectedly asks you to accept or move money for them, ask plenty of questions so you can be sure you understand why they need your help. If in doubt as to where funds have come from, don’t take the risk."
The bank told the story of James, an apprentice, who was followed on Instagram by an account he was unfamiliar with. The account posted about an investment opportunity, suggesting people could make returns in the tens of thousands with an initial investment of just a few hundred pounds. James replied to the account’s post, asking for more information.
James was told that he could make large profits by buying Bitcoin. He had never done anything like this before but agreed to invest £200 initially through a Bitcoin app, with the owner of the Instagram account acting as his ‘mentor’. James was then told to invest a further amount, which would give him an access code for withdrawing profits from the account, which had grown to £3,900. James was told the access code would be available once he invested a further c.£900.
James didn’t have that sort of money, so asked for his initial investment back. His mentor said he could instead pay £200 for the access code and that the mentor himself would pay James £700 to cover the rest of the total needed for the access code – meaning James received £700 from his mentor which he in turn then transferred on.
James continued to follow instructions sent to him via Instagram, sending and receiving more funds over the next few days. When he asked to release the so-called profits from his ‘investment’ he was again told he would need to transfer more money to do so. At this point James began to realise he may have fallen victim to a scam.
Within two weeks of James’ first payment, he received a letter from his main banking provider (not Lloyds Bank), saying his account had been frozen while it reviewed his recent activity. A few weeks later, he was told that his main account had been closed with immediate effect. Lloyds Bank, who James also held an account with, also got in touch to say his account would be closed.
James couldn’t understand why his accounts were being closed, as he didn’t believe he had done anything wrong. However – despite not being aware he was doing it - James had been correctly flagged as a third-party fraud facilitator, more commonly known as a ‘money mule.’
With a fraud marker against his name for six years, James is now unable to open a new bank account or have access to any lending, including loans, credit cards or mobile phone contracts.