A money mule is a person who transfers stolen money or merchandise from one country to another, either in person, through a courier service, or electronically. The term is commonly used to describe on-line scams that prey on victims who are unaware that the money or merchandise they are transferring is stolen. In these scams, the stolen money or merchandise is transferred from the victim's country to the scam operator's country.

Online money mule scams typically exist as a result of other types of online fraud, such as phishing

Phishing

Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT...

 scams, malware

Malware

Malware, short for malicious software, consists of programming that is designed to disrupt or deny operation, gather information that leads to loss of privacy or exploitation, or gain unauthorized access to system resources, or that otherwise exhibits abusive behavior...

 scams or scams that operate around auction sites like eBay

EBay

eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...

. After money or merchandise has been stolen using any of those methods, a scammer will employ a mule to relay the money or goods to the scammer. This process obscures the scammer's true identity and location from the initial victim. Money mules may be subject to criminal prosecution for their actions.

Money mules are commonly recruited with job advertisements for "payment processing agents," "money transfer agents," "local processors," and other similar titles. Some money mules are recruited by a scammer posing as an attractive member of the opposite sex. Candidates are asked to accept payments and to remit most of the funds to a third party — a job which can be done from one's own home

Telecommuting

Telecommuting or telework is a work arrangement in which employees enjoy flexibility in working location and hours. In other words, the daily commute to a central place of work is replaced by telecommunication links...

. Legitimate companies use escrow

Escrow

An escrow is:* an arrangement made under contractual provisions between transacting parties, whereby an independent trusted third party receives and disburses money and/or documents for the transacting parties, with the timing of such disbursement by the third party dependent on the fulfillment of...

 services for this kind of work. Scammers trading in stolen goods use similar tactics to recruit mules who receive packages and then forward them to mail drop

Commercial mail receiving agency

A commercial mail receiving agency , also known as a mail drop, typically operates as a Private Mail Box Operator.A customer of a CMRA can receive mail and other deliveries at the street address of the CMRA rather than the customer's own street address...

s in the scammer's home country.