Criminals using Covid-19 crisis to recruit money laundering mules via social media, experts warn

Growing threat of financial hardship and more time spent at home gives fraudsters greater opportunity to lure people into laundering money from human trafficking, drugs or terrorism financing, Ben Chapman reports

Trade association UK Finance is urging people to be aware of coronavirus-related 'smishing' text message scams (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Criminals are exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to recruit money mules via social media to launder cash from human trafficking, terrorism financing or drug dealing, experts have warned.

Social media mule recruitment is being ramped-up in recent weeks after legitimate sources of income, such as hospitality or retail work, dried up almost entirely due to lockdown measures and people have become more vulnerable to scams.

Fraudsters are also using bereavement scams that target the relatives of people who have died from Covid-19 purporting to be debt collectors recovering debts incurred by the deceased, according to Cifas, the UK’s fraud prevention service.