Overview
- In July 2025 the Australian Federal Police and major banks intensified public warnings on money mule recruitment and boosted enforcement by shutting down suspicious accounts.
- Major banks closed almost 13,000 suspected mule accounts in the 2024 financial year after enhancing detection capabilities and intelligence sharing with law enforcement.
- Criminal syndicates recruit money mules through employment scams, threat scams and romance scams via social media, messaging and gaming platforms.
- Money mules receive between $200 and $500 plus a 10 per cent commission for transferring illicit funds through their personal accounts to obscure criminal origins.
- Networks are increasingly directing mules to launder money through cryptocurrency exchanges, ATMs and global money-transfer apps to evade traditional banking scrutiny.