If someone wants to deposit money into your account

Scammers may try to use you to move stolen money. If you help them, you could be what law enforcement calls a money mule.

Table of Contents Show

Never call or disclose your particulars
Don't give details freely in lucky draws
Never feel threatened by calls or messages from an unknown source
Can someone else deposit money into my bank account?
What to do if someone wants to send you money?
Can someone take money from you if they have your account number?
What is it called when someone puts money in your account?

Money mule scams happen several ways. The story often involves scams related to online dating, work-at-home jobs, or prizes. Scammers send money to you, sometimes by check, then ask you to send (some of) it to someone else. They often want you to use gift cards or wire transfers. Of course, they don’t tell you the money is stolen and they’re lying about the reason to send it. And there never was a relationship, job, or prize. Only a scam.

What happens next? If you deposit the scammer’s check, it may clear but then later turn out to be a fake check. The bank will want you to repay it. If you give the scammer your account information, they may misuse it. You could even get into legal trouble for helping a scammer move stolen money.

How can you avoid money mule scams?

Don’t accept a job that asks you to transfer money. They may tell you to send money to a “client” or “supplier.” Say no. You may be helping a scammer move stolen money.
Never send money to collect a prize. That’s always a scam, and they might be trying to get you to move stolen money.
Don’t send money back to an online love interest who’s sent you money. Also always a scam — and another a way to get you to move stolen money.

Criminals are good at making up reasons to help them move money. Don’t do it. The money may be from other people they scammed. You may be helping criminals hurt people just like you.

If you think you might be involved in a money mule or money transfer scam, stop transferring money. Notify your bank, the wire transfer service, or any gift card companies involved. Then, report it to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.

Please share this information and the FTC’s new infographic, developed with the American Bankers Association Foundation. People may be embarrassed or afraid to talk about their experiences, but you can help. A simple phone call, email or text, saying “Look what I just found” may make a difference in someone’s life.

Published

February 6, 2022 at 5:00 AM

SINGAPORE - Scammers all over the world are working hard to come up with new, ever more ingenious and devious ways to get you to part with your money.

It is impossible to predict what they will be up to next but you stand a fair chance of avoiding scams if you do not divulge your personal details easily in all kinds of scenarios.

Take the experience of one of our readers. He told Invest recently that he was surprised when a stranger deposited about $120 into his bank account via his mobile phone, which is registered with the PayNow system. He did not know the sender and wondered how the person obtained his phone number. But he made the right call - he went to his bank, which asked him to lodge a police report.

"The idea is to make it clear that I did not ask for and would not keep the money," he says. He then gave a copy of the report to the bank so that it could deal with the money.

Bank officials say that while strangers may be able to deposit money into your account using your mobile number, they would not be able to extract other banking information from such transactions or compromise the account's security.

It is unclear why the sender would deposit money into a stranger's account - after all, you are likely to be very careful when keying in the recipient's data before you press "submit".

So what should you do if this happens?

Never call or disclose your particulars

First, don't call the sender because he may be expecting to hear from you because he could be recruiting potential money mules. He could say he made a mistake and give you a number to return the money but if you follow this instruction, you could unwittingly get yourself implicated in a money laundering process.

Another possibility could be that the sender is trying to find an opportunity to meet and befriend you so that he can lure you to part with more money. In such cases, you would be better off to just contact your bank and follow its advice on what to do next.

Even if the unexpected deposit is made by someone you know, such as a casual business contact or a vendor, and the person said he made a mistake, you should not be in a hurry to reverse the transaction via PayNow because you can end up giving the full name you use for your bank account to the recipient.

Instead, ask for his full name and banking details so that you drop off a cheque into his bank's deposit box. In this way, the recipient won't be able to see your personal details on the cheque.

Yes, it is a hassle but you must guard your personal details jealously because information like this is being traded by crime syndicates in the darknet, which is the notorious digital underworld.

Don't give details freely in lucky draws

Frankly, all of us should stop taking part in any lucky draws that require us to fill in our full name, home address and mobile numbers on a slip of paper that is then deposited in a box.

This information can be abused because there is no telling where these slips will end up after the draw. Don't count on every business to shred and burn every slip - note that customer details can be dug out of garbage bags when these slips are improperly disposed of.

Ever wonder how scammers can call or send messages to your phone when your number is unlisted? It is not illogical to assume that one potential source could be from the details you freely gave away in such casual lucky draws.

Even if there is another explanation, retailers should stop making their customers fill out their particulars on paper slips when many already have membership programmes that keep such data.

Businesses that truly want to reward customer loyalty should use such programmes to give away prizes and not resort to quaint paper slips that can be a source of information leaks.

Never feel threatened by calls or messages from an unknown source

Scammers are counting on you to be afraid or lose your cool because people tend to be hasty and do things without thinking when they are faced with dangers or threats to their security.

For instance, according to the accounts of some victims in other countries, some scammers can allegedly copy and mimic the voice of your relatives - presumably after they make some nuisance calls to them earlier - to lure you into thinking that they need you to send money because they have been kidnapped or involved in some accident.

If this happens, just remember that you are in Singapore and that you can seek help from one of the best police forces in the world.

Moreover, unless you are a famous tycoon, the probability of someone wanting to kidnap your relatives, an offence that can attract the death penalty, is practically zero.

So the first thing you should do is to end the call and then try calling your relative, or your other kin.

Stay calm until you reach someone, and you can always call the police for help as a last resort.

Finally, what happens if you see this message on your phone - "We have detected a $1,000 charge on your credit card. If you did not use your card, click on this link and verify your details".

It is a scam, so don't click on the link. Instead, call your bank to check, so you have peace of mind.

Can someone else deposit money into my bank account?

Generally speaking, anyone can deposit money into your savings account. Individual banks have different policies, but the vast majority will accept deposits into an account, as long as you have certain information, which may include the full account number and the full name of the account holder.

What to do if someone wants to send you money?

If you do receive a message from someone saying they want to send you money, the first step is to report the message or phone call to the authorities. You can also visit the Federal Trade Commission to see if someone else has received a similar message.

Can someone take money from you if they have your account number?

The good news is, if someone only has your bank account number, that won't give them enough intel to do any damage. Take comfort in knowing that no one will be able to withdraw money in your account if all they have is your account number.

What is it called when someone puts money in your account?

A deposit is a financial term that means money held at a bank. A deposit is a transaction involving a transfer of money to another party for safekeeping.