Beware the ‘Romance Money Mule’ scam
Published 10:40 am Thursday, January 26, 2023
- Victims of “cyber sweethearts” could possibly end up facing charges of financial fraud if they become involved in a mule scam.
Vulnerable adults and the elderly lose billions of dollars every year to scam artists. Over $1 billion was lost in 2021 to romance scams alone, according to a 2022 consumer protection report from the Federal Trade Commission. Even sadder? Victims could face charges of financial fraud.
Garland Prejean, CSE Federal Credit Union security officer, explained the “Romance Money Mule” scam at the Tuesday Kiwanis Club of Lake Charles meeting.
“People send money to people they don’t know all the time,” he said, explaining it happens more often than he and most people can imagine. In the Romance Money Mule scam, the elderly or vulnerable adult might receive money from someone they have never met, someone who has gained their affection and trust online, someone they hope to one day meet and even marry.
Prejean cautioned that these cyber sweethearts are seldom who or what they say they are. Nor do they look like the photo they may have shared.
Recently, he had to intervene when a deposit into a CSE…
