Money mules: Teenagers and young adults are most likely to be targeted

Cifas told BBC Newsbeat it considers social media to be a “key enabler” of recruiting money mules, while the national body says TikTok and Instagram are “very popular” in the cases under investigation.

Instagram owner Meta said it was working with British banks and investigators to combat fraud and stop criminal activity.

TikTok said it removed 95.9% of videos violating its cheating and fraud policies in spring 2024 before they were reported.

Snap Inc., Snapchat’s parent company, said it routinely saves content suspected of being illegal and makes it available to authorities upon request.

The national competition authority said 48 money mules were arrested in one month this fall.

Nick Sharp, deputy director of the National Economic Crime Center, told BBC Newsbeat that cases were “increasingly” resulting in arrests.

“If you’ve been given an opportunity that says you can get rich quick, there is no legal job that will allow you to do that,” he says.

“No one will ever need access to your bank account, so if this happens, report it.

– But better yet, don’t go there at all.