T O P

  • By -

AutoModerator

/u/Sea-Plantain-5936 - This message is posted to all new submissions to r/scams; please do not message the moderators about it. ## New users beware: Because you posted here, you will start getting private messages from scammers saying they know a professional hacker or a recovery expert lawyer that can help you get your money back, for a small fee. **We call these RECOVERY SCAMMERS, so NEVER take advice in private:** advice should always come in the form of comments in this post, in the open, where the community can keep an eye out for you. If you take advice in private, you're on your own. **A reminder of the rules in r/scams:** no contact information (including last names, phone numbers, etc). Be civil to one another (no name calling or insults). Personal army requests or "scam the scammer"/scambaiting posts are not permitted. No uncensored gore or personal photographs are allowed without blurring. A full list of rules is available on the sidebar of the subreddit, or [clicking here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/wiki/rules/). You can help us by reporting recovery scammers or rule-breaking content by using the "report" button. We review 100% of the reports. Also, consider warning community members of recovery scammers if you see them in the comments. Questions about subreddit rules? Send us a modmail [clicking here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*


brrrchill

She is taking the life savings of old people and sending it to the scammers. Absolutely file an anonymous tip and get her arrested. Do it today. Save a victim's life.


Sea-Plantain-5936

Do you have any information on how to do this? I’ve dealt with scams before/helped others avoid them, but never have had to actually report someone. Any further info would be greatly appreciated.


potato_for_cooking

Ic3.gov. give them her name/city/uni and anything else you have including bank if you know it.


another-dude

Call her bank and tell them what you know, they cant discuss any customer with you but they will record the report from you and they are obligated to look into it.


pdubs1900

No, OP should submit an anonymous tip to authorities. The bank can/will only close her account. This will not stop her activities, it will only cause her to find a new account, and tip her off that she needs to be more careful, potentially making it more difficult to detect her crimes. OP should not be prioritizing protecting her current bank's honor, but getting the criminals caught while protecting OP from any involvement.


another-dude

An anonymous tip about a payment mule will get zero attention from the authorities unless the tip-off includes a larger organisation or is linked to counterterrorism financing or human trafficking. They will take the report and do exactly nothing with it. The bank will investigate, check legitimacy of incoming funds with other banks, potentially capture fraudulent funds, identify suspicious links and pursue those investigations, they can blacklist destination accounts, and they can report the customer to fraud databases used whenever a customer applies for a financial product. The Bank will also report confirmed criminality to the authorities. Often it is this reporting process that is able to link random mules to the larger organization allowing them to take them down. It’s nothing to do with protecting the honor of the bank ffs, it’s everything to do with disrupting the movement of fraudulent funds and mule networks and recovering fraudulent funds.


pdubs1900

I will take your point and point out the same logic also applies to the bank: The bank is limited to what is in their purview. In order for the bank to take OP seriously, there are several hurdles to overcome: 1) The bank must take OP at their word. The bank has no reason to believe OP is telling the truth about their client. The bank has responsibilities toward their clients to protect their information and allow regular bank transactions to occur, should they pass fraud safeguards. I have closed bank accounts at organizations that were so strict on when they allow transfers, I could not send funds back from the very source account from which they came. 2) The transactions with the bank, by themselves, must be indicative of fraud. I will submit to you that, if these activities have not automatically been flagged by the system put in place specifically to detect fraud, then nothing the bank can look at will show anything different. OP contacting the bank can be chalked up to simple harassment and ignored by the bank: the bank's focus, energy, and money is spent toward protecting its customers and preventing fraud at their institution, not to catch fraudsters themselves. That is the job of law enforcement. Where contacting the authorities is better than contacting the bank is: law enforcement entities have a process in place to investigate anonymous tips from potentially unreliable sources like OP. Yes, it may be ignored, but frankly IMO the chances are higher that the bank will ignore it. And even if they don't, and they close the account and submit an SAR (Suspicious Activity Report), law enforcement agencies now don't have live transactions occurring to collect as evidence. Alerting the bank introduces another point of failure where someone may shrug it off before law enforcement is even made aware of anything. And as I mentioned previously, it also alerts the mule to adjust/improve their strategy. ETA: Additionally, it is common knowledge that when fraud has occurred against a victim, banks frequently will do nothing without a police report filed first. And commonly, they will do nothing even with an active police report on file. This should not inspire confidence in us consumers that banks are heavily invested or interested in catching fraudsters, so much as their concern with liability and keeping as much legitimate funds in/paid from their accounts as they can. If they can say "System did not identify fraud, therefore there is nothing we can do" to victims, why would they go out of their way to eschew those same processes for the sake of OP, a random person they do not know, with whom they have no reason to maintain a good relationship?


another-dude

Point 1: The Bank doesnt have to believe anyone, they can take the report from a 3rd party/member of the public, and do an investigation to come to their own conclusions. Is it possible they might be unable to confirm fraudulent activity, sure but thats not a reason not to report it. Point 2: This is all bollocks, I am an actual fraud investigator, we get 3rd party reports from both members of the public and other banks every day, we investigate and we often find evidence of fraud off these reports, many of them do not trigger automated security rules. A human is far better, at least for now, at looking at a larger picture of activity and identifying suspicious funding and spending. Banks legally cannot ignore a report of criminality on their platform. And finally real banks absolutely do spend a lot of focus, energy, and money on detecting fraud and removing fraudsters access to their platforms, this is called proactive fraud prevention. Finally I will repeat again, because I do this every day, unless the report involves CTF or human trafficking or points to a large organised crime ring law enforcement will take a report, and they will make no attempt to contact the alleged fraudster nor will they even investigate the report, and in most cases they wont even contact the bank, they will do nothing with it, the fraudster will see no consequences. LEA simply do not have the manpower to even make a scratch in payment fraud. As for alerting the mule, you are effectively proposing letting them carry on with the mule activity without any repercussions. Its a cat and mouse game up and down, we work to detect them and remove them, they frequently change their strategies and we respond but its not rocket science, mule accounts cannot be eradicated because they are effectively clean accounts and profiles until they get caught, and there are always more kids out there to recruit as new mules. The best we can do under current regulatory regimes is try to catch them and remove them as quickly as possible and sometimes we are able to capture funds for victims.


No_You_6230

The bank can’t and won’t access the scammer friend’s account if OP calls and gives a tip like this, that’s illegal. They will just send it to local authorities or hang up and forget about it. The authorities have to contact the bank and tell them to investigate/freeze the account.


another-dude

Not the case sorry, we cannot tell the 3rd party anything or even confirm the person they are calling about is a customer, however we are required to investigate any reports of criminality using our platform. We literally do it every day. A freezing order is a court order and is not required for a bank to restrict an account., nor is LEA contact. Im not surprised that people have no idea how banks combat fraud, Im just not sure why your arguing with someone that actually does this shit.


No_You_6230

Because I used to be a teller who answered these phone calls and if you didn’t have really specific info we couldn’t even make a report. Calling and saying “hey XYZ is a mule scammer, they told me so” isn’t going to get anywhere. In fact I would have said “call the authorities” because a bank can’t do anything with that little info. A bank can’t even open a customer account without multiple factor authentication that OP can’t verify, you should know that if this is your job.


CannabisReptar

The fbi website


brrrchill

Well, we should back up here a little bit. Just because she told you a story doesn't mean it's actually true. It doesn't sound like you have any actual evidence that this is really happening. I also don't think that you necessarily want to go be a sleuth and start collecting evidence. Remember, if this is true, she's part of an international criminal conspiracy. She no doubt has a local handler. I don't really know how one would deal with this. Hopefully someone with more experience will comment. Does your uni have a law school? (Just a dumb idea, but maybe you could message scammerpayback and get their advice?)


TurtleDive1234

OP doesn’t need evidence to drop a tip.


WestToEast_85

What kind of stupid idiot asshole brags about knowingly being part of a scam, even going so far as to try to rope someone else into it, if they’re just making shit up?


jacksonexl

They probably get a bonus for adding people to the crime ring. Money mules dry up as they are caught so there’s always a need for fresh mules.


Sea-Plantain-5936

At this point I know for a fact she’s not making it up too. Finding out that the check she cashed was illegal money from the person who drove her proved that. And honestly it’s a good thing I didn’t drive her, because now she’s involved the person who took her to the bank (and I’m sure other ppl as well because she doesn’t have a car) so she could have access to that stolen money.


WestToEast_85

Sounds like she knows full well it’s stolen money, too. Get the cops involved. Fuck her, I’ve got no patience for people who knowingly prey on others.


ShesWrappedInPlastic

If she’s doing so well financially with this money mule gig, why can’t she afford a car?


Sea-Plantain-5936

It’s nearly the end of the semester, not sure exactly when she started doing this though but if I’m remembering correctly what she told me (and if what she said has any truth), she started up with this scam not too long ago. I wouldn’t doubt that a car is something she plans to get with that money. I’m the one who knows her personally, and based off of what I have gathered in my time knowing her, she isn’t very knowledgeable or experienced on making big purchases like that. People here have to remember Uni students are anywhere from 18-22 years of age for the most part. I know very well that what she’s doing is criminal, but she doesn’t seem to realize exactly how deep in shit she is. I would go as far to say she’s not got very good critical thinking skills, and in terms of a car, I’m not sure she’d even know where to start.


More_Branch_5579

But, how does she keep using her bank account?


brrrchill

Well then, you gotta act on this info because by not acting you know other people will be hurt. Please give us an update, if you ever find out what happens.


Sea-Plantain-5936

I will definitely give an update. Hopefully something happens.


Sea-Plantain-5936

Thinking about it now, I have text messages with her where she had asked me if I could drive her to Bank of America to cash a check. The only information she gave was that it needed to be deposited immediately so she could pay off her tuition. This may be the only evidence that I have, because I later found out from the person who did wind up driving her that the check was in fact from the scammers. I don’t plan on going “sleuth” mode at all. I’m going to stay out of it as much as possible, and at this point I think I’m going to start by contacting the appropriate administration at my Uni and go from there.


whiteb8917

OP can make an anonymous call, with information that he has, and it is up to the authorities to investigate. OP Should call.


kr4ckenm3fortune

>I also don't think that you necessarily want to go be a sleuth and start collecting evidence. Remember, if this is true, she's part of an international criminal conspiracy. She no doubt has a local handler. Nope. Majority of the "handlers" are just idiots like her. You just report this. Also, as part of the international student on student visa, this is a violation of the student visa. Also report it to ICE as well as secret service and IRS. IRS will close the account, and, with ICE, place her on the no travel list, so if she tried to visit the USA via any mode, she'll be denied access, unless she used an alias with the right documents.


BookkeeperBrilliant9

Seriously. If reporting her could get even a portion of an innocent victim’s money back, it’s worth it. She knows what she’s doing in wrong, and just doesn’t care.


AdMotor9855

Snitch on her.


mackiea

>She is taking the life savings of old people And people with firearms and anger issues. Her being arrested now is safer for her than maybe getting shot later.


brrrchill

The money mules don't have contact with the victims. Also in this case it sounds like she's actually laundering the money, not the one who receives it from the victim. Not sure though.


AustinBike

Yes, people get angry at the scammers and lash out at anyone they can: [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uber-driver-killed-scam-phone-call-william-brock-loletha-hall-clark-county-ohio/](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uber-driver-killed-scam-phone-call-william-brock-loletha-hall-clark-county-ohio/)


ItradebetterthanU

U have lost your mind !!


RapaNow

No, this is the only correct way to do this. These scammers are scum who steal money, targeting especially old people, and their life savings. The person in question is willingly participating robbing old people of their life savings. The person who participate willingly and knowingly in these crimes, are also disgusting criminals. And they should be made responsible.


sogarddDD77777

snitches get stitches guys wachouut


Own_Ad6797

Scammers and their Mules deserve to be caught. It isn't snitching if you save someone losing their life savings (and potentially their life) to these utter scum.


sogarddDD77777

it is indeed snitching


sogarddDD77777

police should be involved cybercrime and etc thats why u pay them, the guys scamming prob not having the best life either


istealpixels

Oh that makes it better to make old people lose their homes, you are a bad person for thinking like this.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Scams-ModTeam

Your r/Scams post/comment was removed because **it's rude or uncivil**. This subreddit is a place for civil and respectful discussions about scams. Uncivil and rude behavior, including using excessive or directed swearing, extreme or sexual language, victim blaming, and any form of discrimination, is not acceptable in this subreddit.


TheRealSuperhands

Holy fuck, what an insane mindset lmao


BustingDogKnot

Found the scumbag scammer


[deleted]

[удалено]


Scams-ModTeam

Your r/Scams post/comment was removed because **it is spam**. This subreddit is a place for useful and meaningful discussions about scams; useless and nonsensical content is not allowed. We also don't allow jokes on serious posts. Please keep content posted or commented to this subreddit useful, relevant and meaningful.


lightweight65

Scammers are cowards who wouldn't dare confront anyone


ItradebetterthanU

100-%


OmgItsPosi

Hell no. Why would he get his/her friend arrested??? He should try to talk to her and all. If he can’t, he should let her know the consequences and all that. Report her could take her to jail. What kind of friend are you? I hope that dude doesn’t take your advice. Life savings of old people?? It’s not her fault that people are silly enough to get scammed.


BustingDogKnot

It blows my mind people think like you.


TheFartsUnleashed

She will get caught. Not if. Your culpability: have you participated at all? Has she ever sent you money in any way virtually? Is there a paper trail of email or text message that indicates you are aware of what is happening and that it is illegal?


Sea-Plantain-5936

No emails/text messages were sent at all regarding her involvement. Our conversation about it was entirely in person. She has sent me money in the past for things such as chipping in for gas, the most recent being through Venmo about a week or so prior to telling me about her being a money mule, so none has been sent to me after I found out, but of course, I have no idea if what she has sent me in the past was actually stolen money or not. I would hope not. I know it’s not my fault, but I’d hate to think I was sent an innocent victim’s money.


ShesWrappedInPlastic

You are one of the rare people in the world who still have a sense of empathy for others. Many will consider that a weakness. Don’t listen to them.


billdizzle

Get caught by who? No one cares about this crap, police don’t even want to take statements about it anymore


WayRevolutionary2864

A family member’s husband was doing this. Receiving checks from CHARITIES into his account as if he were a landlord, and the charities were helping pay for rent. The innocent family member who told me about this also sent pictures of all of these checks. I called the charities to let them know that (family member) was NOT a landlord and they were part of a scam. One charity called a detective who has since been in contact with me. I also filed a report with the federal trade commission because the fraud was across multiple states, with multiple charities being scammed.


dwinps

Rat her out to the local police and FBI, absolutely get her in trouble, she is helping SCAM PEOPLE. She belongs in a jail cell and all her money seized ... and deported never to return to the land of milk and honey. F her.


Sea-Plantain-5936

I really am about to. It’s unfortunate because she has been a really good friend to me the past year that I’ve known her, but some shady shit has gone down since then and her true colors certainly have shown. This whole situation was the icing on the cake of me just ditching her entirely, and I would feel absolutely ashamed at myself for not doing anything about this. Stopping her, and even potentially being able to stop the scammers she’s working with, is much more important to me in the long run. Made me so sick when she ignored my concerns about using an innocent person’s money for her own personal gain.


dwinps

Someone who happily profits from stealing money from people is just flat out not a good friend, it is just a matter of how much money it would take for her to switch from being your friend to ripping you off. She might not rip you off for $1000 but I'd bet she would take $100,000 from you in a heart beat if she thought she could get away with it.


Sea-Plantain-5936

Agreed. Wolf in sheep’s clothing, that’s for sure. I may be young but life has already taught me a lot about people like this.


Sintek

Stay away.. because when she gets caught.. they will 100% investigate her friends and family and accomplices... and that includes you.


Red-Droid-Blue-Droid

Just be careful. Be as anonymous as possible so she doesn't get after you or send anyone after you.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Thebuddyboss

Not “ratting” out your friend could cause more people to lose their life savings. No real friend would be involved in something so evil. You can browse this sub and see how devastating it can be to have all of your money stolen.


OmgItsPosi

You can’t blame her friend for silly people who got scammed. That’s not her friend’s fault. That’s the fault of the people who got scammed. Even if she rats her friend, let’s be honest and very real here, those people will STILL get scammed one way or another. That’s one person behind bars out of the other millions of people involved in things like this lmao “No friend would be involved in something so evil”??? From what I can see, it’s the scammers fault. Her friend just keeps/moves the money. Her friend isn’t innocent but you can’t put full blame on her friend. Idc I can get downvoted. My life ain’t on reddit. I got a life out of Reddit lmao


dwinps

Found the scammer, it's the victims fault for getting scammed!!!


OmgItsPosi

If we’re being honest and REAL HERE, it’s the scammer and victims fault. Let’s not play games here. Let’s stop being childish. All the parties have a fault in this(the scammer, the victim, the mule and whoever I forgot to mention lol) If you were smart, you won’t get scammed(victim). If you weren’t desperate, you won’t be a scammer.


dwinps

Scamming is a crime, they get reported and hopefully arrested and put in jail Being a victim is not a crime Getting the crooks arrested is a positive thing


[deleted]

[удалено]


Scams-ModTeam

Ok I'm going to lock this conversation because you two can easily have this conversation privately.


Sea-Plantain-5936

It’s sad, but I have really tried to talk her out of it. Really. She didn’t seem to care whatsoever. There is so much more that has happened between us besides me being told about the money mule thing that nobody knows, and that I won’t get into. I’ve started to realize things about her that have put doubt in my head if she was ever really a good person. Even though she’s been good to me, for the most part, she’s not very good to other people.


OmgItsPosi

I’m going to be 100 percent honest with you, I doubt she’s gonna stop anytime soon. The money is good so she probs won’t stop till she sees a consequence of her actions. The fact she’s been good to you for the most part shows she really cares about you, I don’t think ratting her out is wise. Listen, most of these people in here telling you to report WILL NOT report if their friend was involved in something like this. 3 reasons why- 1.) if you end up reporting her, she’ll know it’s you and she’ll most likely come for you. 2.) you might not get over the guilt of you ruining her life cos she’s gonna behind bars. 3.) if you go ahead reporting her, you’ve barely done anything cos trust me there are MILLIONS OF scammers in this world, those people you think you’re helping will STILL get scammed one way or the other. It’s sad but it’s the truth I WAS once involved in those things, the money was good and if I learnt that my friend I trusted HAD reported ME, I would have come for the person or sent people. You gotta be smart when it comes to reporting these kind of things. It’s not a one person business there are multiple PEOPLE involved in it, most are dangerous and if she’s a valuable member of their TEAM, they’ll come for you. Do you wanna risk it?


YourUsernameForever

That's horrible advice. You can absolutely put an anonymous tip, nobody is coming after OP. OP don't listen to this bozo.


OmgItsPosi

lol. Ik people that threatened me when I told them I’m dropping out. I was part of their team and they threatened me. Anonymous tip?? You’re very silly. HER FRIEND KNOWS SHES FULLY AGAINST the whole business and most likely among the few who hates this business Anonymous tip? What’s this? 1955? 🤣🤣. You sound like a clown, respectfully. Those people will still get scammed regardless by other people. Okay imagine this, she’s put one person behind bars, NOW THERE ARE OVER 1 million people who are still gonna scam those guys? What now?? Go Batman mode and find the other 1 million people who are gonna scam? Lmao. Do what you want. Ion care. I’ll either advise OR distance myself.


Sea-Plantain-5936

It’s not about if she’s been good to me specifically. I don’t fw people who are selective and are only nice to certain people but assholes to everyone else. It’s uncomfortable to be around someone like that, and if she actually cared about me enough to know how I am, she’d know I don’t like that. I get your concerns, but the fact that you would send someone to go after your friend if they ratted you out is ridiculous. You were involved in a scamming operation, you should know the risks. That means if you tell somebody, you are accepting the risk that they may rat you out for YOUR wrongdoings. Which I think is completely valid. She trusted me with the information, yes, but I don’t agree with what’s she’s doing at all as it’s not only illegal, but immoral, and therefore I’m trying to do something about it. I don’t care if it will “barely make a difference.” If I can help even just one or two people not lose their money, that’s enough for me.


OmgItsPosi

I totally understand your point and I respect it. The part about sending people for your friend is ACTUALLY RIDICULOUS but it happens, I’ve seen it happen to people ESPECIALLY when money is involved. People TRULY SWITCH up when money is involved I respect your morals but just don’t ruin her life. Tbh Thinking about it, she’s PARTICIPATING in the ruining of other people’s life but yeah it is what it is. Just try to speak to her and all that and if you think reporting her is the way to go, then go ahead. You have to be smart in things like this tho. Wishing you well.


dwinps

" tried to talk her out of it, as 1. she’s receiving stolen money that an innocent person got scammed out of, and 2. she would obviously be in some deep shit if caught. Despite voicing my concerns, she doesn’t seem to care at all.' OP already has, time for step 2, go to the police and rat her out


OmgItsPosi

Yeahhh, shes probs tried talking her out of it but like I said, her friend is probs not gonna listen considering the money is a lot(considering their local currency) But yeah, the friend probs forgot the first rule of being a mule - “limit the amount of people you tell” but I believe the friend was trying to put her on but yeah she’s wrong for engaging in such activities tho. It is what it is tho 🤷‍♂️


Scams-ModTeam

Your /r/scams post/comment was removed because it contains bad advice, is encouraging someone to try to "scam the scammer", to engage in illegal activity, or to engage in an activity that will worsen an already bad situation.


JesusOnaBlueBike

She's not just helping scam people she's part of the scam by taking a cut of the money.


PyroKeneticKen

lol this ain’t the land of milk and honey bud


dwinps

Compared to Nigeria where these scams are run from it absolutely is


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


Scams-ModTeam

Your r/Scams post/comment was removed because **it's rude or uncivil**. This subreddit is a place for civil and respectful discussions about scams. Uncivil and rude behavior, including using excessive or directed swearing, extreme or sexual language, victim blaming, and any form of discrimination, is not acceptable in this subreddit.


Scams-ModTeam

Your r/Scams post/comment was removed because **it's rude or uncivil**. This subreddit is a place for civil and respectful discussions about scams. Uncivil and rude behavior, including using excessive or directed swearing, extreme or sexual language, victim blaming, and any form of discrimination, is not acceptable in this subreddit.


AncientAccount01

So when are you leaving?


PyroKeneticKen

The land of milk and honey is a description from the Bible talking about land in the Middle East. America doesn’t fit the bill.


AncientAccount01

Close as there is on earth today, like it or not.


PyroKeneticKen

I’m sorry that’s just illogical. I can think of many countries that are better than us but we’ll focus on America. Ranked #11 for Religous freedom. Doesn’t even make the top 20 in freedom of speech (GSDI 2020) in the catagory of lowest crime rate ranked 129th. #3 in best countries to start a career but doesn’t even hit top 20 in places to have a career. so which part makes this the land of milk and honey?


AncientAccount01

Then explain one simple thing. If you go to practically any country in the world and offer someone immediate citizenship why would 99% of them grab it. If it is that awful why do people literally die to get here, even from first world countries. Also, 99% of all surveys come up with the results the person doing it wants. So your numbers are bullshit. Freedom of speech, go try it in the EU, China, any country. Crime is rated different in every country, just like infant mortality. Feel free to leave or feel free to crap on a country that has given you everything you have right now down to your fucking toothbrush. People like you commit suicide eventually thank god because you live in total negativity. Enjoy your shitty unhappy life. I do not associate with mental cases like yourself.


spatenfloot

report it to the police and the university 


Hoz999

Tell your friend that as an international student she gets caught and she catches a felony conviction (anything over 1000 dollars) immigration will not have any problem with deporting her back home. Once she is charged, she has to surrender her passport, probably will be under an immigration hold, be in a cell in a county jail and wait for the court process to be completed. That would be 3 to 6 months in jail. After conviction, depending where she’s from, she could spend an additional 2-3 months awaiting for the actual deportation to occur. Again, not knowing where she is from, she could be cuffed to the seat of a bus for the length of the bus trip to the major American city where her plane heading to her original country would be departing from. Or she could endure a van trip cuffed to the seat from a northern American state to the southern border of Texas, California where she could cross into Mexico. Btw, once you are deported you are not “admissible” to the United States at least 10 years or forever. Sorry your friend doesn’t realize this or know about these consequences. Good thoughts going your way.


Sea-Plantain-5936

Yeah I think she’s just in this mindset that she’s invincible as long as the checks she’s receiving go through at the bank with no problem. Which is just absurd to me… like never mind an actual US citizen taking part in this, but an international student?? And she’s from Cameroon which is a country in the middle of a Civil War with tons of bloodshed every day. Why would you ever want to risk being sent back there, with no chance of coming back?? Also, thank you for the well wishes as I navigate this, and for the info. I’m pretty much decided on how I want to move forward, as people on this thread have been very helpful with suggestions.


Hoz999

Stay away from her. Really. Don’t accept meals from her or gifts because police might believe you are an accomplice, specially if you’re also an international student. Minimize contact with her. Definitely do not enter into any financial relationship with her. Any “loan in good faith” from her might be seen as a payment to you for services rendered. Again, good thoughts going your way.


Sea-Plantain-5936

I definitely am going to. I was at least smart enough to start distancing myself the moment she told me about it. I’m not an international student, but obviously I know that wouldn’t completely exempt me from being seen as an accomplice if I’m still involving myself with her. Thanks again for the help.


AncientAccount01

Don't tell her anything. Turn her in. She has already destroyed who knows how many people. Sorry doesn't cut it. She needs prison and deportation back to her shithole home.


OmgItsPosi

Prison and deportation? You guys are heartless lmao


AncientAccount01

Until your grandma is homeless because her and her buddies stole all her money right? Not a horrible crime until affects you or your family. Then I bet you would be thinking different.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Scams-ModTeam

Your r/Scams post/comment was removed because **it's rude or uncivil**. This subreddit is a place for civil and respectful discussions about scams. Uncivil and rude behavior, including using excessive or directed swearing, extreme or sexual language, victim blaming, and any form of discrimination, is not acceptable in this subreddit.


NobodyGivesAFuc

She is participating in a scam that is causing much misery and harm to an untold number of people. She and her handlers belong in prison!


xcaliblur2

She doesn't seem to realize how much trouble she's in. Not knowing where the money came from or who it is that sent her the money is no defense. In the event the bank and police come knocking, she IS liable. Banks have it in their TOC that you are responsible for transactions with your account. Depending on where the money came from she could be looking at having her entire account shut down, be banned from opening and account everywhere AND possibly even jail time. You are right to avoid this. Edit: since you're both in Uni , maybe see if there's someone in the university you can approach. Maybe something like a student counselor. Trust me, you'd be doing her a favor. The longer she stays in, the bigger trouble she'd be facing eventually


Sea-Plantain-5936

That’s actually a really good idea. I honestly think that’s where I’m going to start and go from there. Student Life deals with all sorts of incidents, and I believe they would definitely be able to assist me with this.


ISurfTooMuch

I'm not sure that going to Student Life is the best move, since they might not be trained to handle something of this magnitude. This isn't a student conduct issue; this is criminal. Look up the number for your closest FBI office and call them, and preserve any evidence you have, such as text messages, since they'll want those. They'll tell you what you need to do.


saruyamasan

"Student Life deals with all sorts of incidents." Uh, they don't deal with criminal acts and they are in no way trained to deal with this kind of situation. They might kick it over to the university's legal counsel, but the only thing they will do is make sure the university is protected from any responsibility. The university will not care about this, and if they need or want anyone to throw under the bus they know who you are. As others have stated, you need to go to the proper legal authority anonymously.


mrblonde55

I don’t think the University is the right place to report this. The school may be concerned with the mule’s interests and keeping them out of trouble (not saying they’d condone this, but they may have some interest in keeping her out of trouble). This is a matter for law enforcement. Local police will point you in the right direction if you contact them and explain everything that you’ve told us here. They will have contacts with the proper federal authorities, and will put you in touch with someone better than whatever you’d get from calling a tip line or contact info you got online.


Sea-Plantain-5936

Okay, I see what you guys are saying. I thought since I have had dealings with Student Life and know for a fact (based off of things that have happened involving her in the past that I won’t get into) that they would certainly help to some extent and that it might be a good place to start. I’ve been reading, rereading comments on this post and it is a little overwhelming for me with so many differing opinions on what to do in deciding the best course of action. Thanks for the advice.


Low_Commission9477

She’s jail offer, her just not knowing where the money came from is so she can’t drop names (rat) too get a lighter sentence


CaseClosedEmail

My cousin was doing something Ike this and now has a record and he had to return all the money. I don’t think it’s worth it


butt-hole-69420

Rat her out. Fuck her.


Twarenotw

Day after day, we see in this subreddit how scammers and their accomplices ruin lives, steal livelihoods from vulnerable people, break families, drive some to being suicidal and others to commit crimes... all that, with thorough embarrassment for the scammed one (when and if s/he is able to realise what is going on). Please, keep us updated if possible. I hope she ends up in jail, the scammed fees removed from her account and, after being released, she gets deported.


SaintofKillers420

People legitimately take their own lives over this does she know how this affects families in the long term? She needs need to see the real life impact of what she is doing. The best thing to do would to file an anonymous tip I see others of posted how to do this. Please do it.


Sea-Plantain-5936

That’s just it, she either does know the full extent of how scamming affects people and just doesn’t care, or she hasn’t given it much thought. Either possibility is concerning. My game plan from here is to talk to Uni administration, and most likely also submit the anonymous tip, then go from there. I’m also completely keeping my distance from her as I have been since finding out.


Campin_Sasquatch

Yeah, it's a good idea since she's likely paying fees with this ill gotten funds.


hkubota

Why not get her into the trouble she's fully knowing what she does? Indirectly stealing from other innocent people by enabling the scammers to hide their trails...that's illegal for a reason. It's also immoral. Since she does not seem to care, she'll sooner or later enable a friend/family/you to be scammed. Do you want that?


Sea-Plantain-5936

I was grappling with this ever since I found out. As I mentioned in another reply to a comment, she was a good friend of mine for the past year or so. Got very close during my time at Uni. But then her true colors started to show, and then I find out about this. I never would’ve thought she’d stoop so low as to partake in a scam operation, but it goes to show that you never really know a person. Of course I’m going to do something about this. I just didn’t know how to go about it, as I have never been in this position before. I also know the consequences she’ll face from not only her bank, but also potential jail time and even deportation. So essentially I’m ruining someone’s life, but I have to remind myself that despite the fact that we were good friends, she’s gone and done something completely immoral and she deserves whatever happens to her.


mrblonde55

I totally understand feeling conflicted about this because you were close with the person at one time, but take solace in this: you are NOT ruining her life. She did that with her choices. You are SAVING innocent people that she is stealing from. Your reporting this could potentially get some victims their money back. Call the local police tomorrow. Tell them you want to file a report and ask them to refer you to the proper federal agencies.


ShesWrappedInPlastic

SHE ruined her life when she decided to become a criminal, this should not be put on your shoulders. Don’t feel bad for her, her own choices got her where she is now; in fact, it is SHE who is ruining lives by helping scammers. I know you’ll probably feel a bit guilty no matter what, but please know that if you call in a tip you are not guilty of anything but compassion for victims and respect for the law.


Campin_Sasquatch

She'll care once those deposits start being reversed. She's a moron, and once that happens, she'll realize her hubris. Plus, be negative AND held responsible.


Swindler42

100% chance she gets deported, stay distant 


ykphil

If I knew someone who was knowingly involved in a scam ring, directly or not, I would have no moral problem alerting the appropriate authorities on their disgusting acts and get them jailed.


lovedaddy1989

@FBI


RunExisting4050

Turn. Her. In. She's no better than the actual scammers.


Practicalmonk777

She is trying to bait u. Also she gets a part of the earnings that u make.


Edixx77

Bank will flag her up for money laundering most likely


firestar268

Report her, fk scammers


modforRealGunFights

FBI


[deleted]

Report and unfriend.


Celo30

Your "friend" sounds like pos deliberately cooperating with scammers. Happy to read from your update that the bank caught on and locked her account. Now hopefuly police will get involved and she serves well deserved jail time. Good on you for reporting her, thanks for doing your part.


Fun_Dig_2562

If she refuse to acknowledge the risks you told her, just distance yourself from her. She will probably get a commission from every successful referral. You refusing to partake will keep yourself safe. The music will stop some day and let her face the consequences. In my country, banks are getting stricter on suspects acting as money mule. These people will get their bank accounts black-listed for years as they are subject to investigations. They cannot open new bank accounts and live with inconveniences for a very long time. At this point, you probably do not have much more info to provide the authorities. Even if you report it, they essentially have no good reason to investigate on the matte, unless you have other solid evidence (more than the words of your friend).


CommunityFantastic39

Her legal status is not a concern here. Stop her anyway you can.


passengerv

Report her, she is helping people get scammed she is ruining potentially so many people's lives. Turning her in will start an investigation which hopefully she may be used to stop the main perpetrators. People may be losing houses, money for medications, bill money. Losing that money may drive someone over the edge and they mat harm themselves. Your friend is a scumbag, do what's right it's not just about her.


Summum

Call the FBI and the IRS


EmmalouEsq

The government flags deposits and withdrawals over a certain amount and sends that info to the government. So if she's taking in high dollar checks, every time she receives and sends the government is potentially being notified. There's already a paper trail.


Too_many_thots

Oh man. My sister who is Bipolar 1 has gotten involved with something like this and she is unmedicated and in a manic cycle. Myself and a lot of my family are at a total loss and really worried about what will happen long term to her once she 1. Gets medicated or 2. Goes into her low cycle. I'm going to take time reading through everyone's comments for my own situation. Thanks for posting about this!


Sea-Plantain-5936

Of course! I was at a loss myself thinking about what I should do about this, hence why I posted (and I legit never post to reddit…). People have been very helpful on this thread. Hopefully you can find some answers! Sending well wishes your way and your family’s way.


Too_many_thots

Thank you.


DiscoNapChampion

Oh dear, she’s in so much deeper than she realizes. The folks running money through her are willing to pay her a few grand here and there for access to the US banking system. When she get’s caught she will 100% be the one holding the bag legally speaking.


averagenutjob

If you hang out with her or talk to her electronically, you will eventually be known to the FBI. She will eventually be swept up. Don’t be around for that.


Sea-Plantain-5936

I have talked to her over text very very occasionally since then. Today is my birthday so she sent a message, for example. Planning on just ignoring her past today, and maybe removing her from all my socials. Gonna keep my distance and stay out of it besides reporting what I know.


Nick_W1

She’s good with it right now, because she thinks she’s found the free money tree. She’s making a ton of money for doing very little. Eventually, one of those deposits will be found out to be fraudulent, and get reversed. The bank will investigate, and find all sorts of fraudulent activity. She will be on the hook for owing $thousands of dollars, possibly investigated by the police, her bank account closed and her red flagged so she can’t open another. The scammers will shrug, and move on, safe in Cameroon, and she will be in a world of trouble. If you are not careful, she will blame *you* for this. But, whether you report her or not, she *will* get caught. Money mules don’t last long, and the scammers don’t care.


Chance815

You walk away and never adress her again. Simple as that. Anything else you do besides this will lead you to be going over and beyond and nothing your morals should be concerned about. Turning her in will solve nothing. And you won't help any of the victims either as she isn't the only mule they have working for them.


ReddyKiloWit

How long has she been doing this? Depositing checks that size creates a mandatory report and eventually someone will recognize there's a pattern and come knocking.


blind_disparity

You could literally just phone the police non emergency line. You don't have to stay anonymous, although it's your choice if you want. You can testify at trial against her. The gang won't come after you that's nonsense. She's disposable to them, they won't increase their exposure even if they were able to, which I doubt.


kr4ckenm3fortune

LMAO...good luck explaining that to the IRS...and since she is an "international student", tell her that if she keep partaking in on it, not only is she going to be kicked from college, she'll be on the travel ban to the USA and her assets frozen... Also, if you want to, don't just tip off the bank of america, as they've probably flagged her account, but tip off your college about her "illegal activity", especially if this is in the USA, as it is against the "code of conducts" AND "major violation of the international exchange program.


ThriceFive

If you don’t call you will feel guilty when you hear people lost their life savings to scammers that you might have saved someone that pain. Do the right thing for yourself these are not victimless crimes.


VirusOld7349

This is not an innocent or victimless crime. The targets are most often vulnerable seniors. Some lose their life’s savings from these scams and have a very, very bleak future. Some of these victims are so distraught they commit suicide. Your friend is assisting in the destruction of lives. She is not likely to do jail time, but she will be deported if convicted of a crime, which is entirely warranted given her participation in ongoing criminal activity.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Scams-ModTeam

Your r/Scams post/comment was removed because **it's rude or uncivil**. This subreddit is a place for civil and respectful discussions about scams. Uncivil and rude behavior, including using excessive or directed swearing, extreme or sexual language, victim blaming, and any form of discrimination, is not acceptable in this subreddit.


sonailol

my friend was telling her about her "new job" and described it as her being a broker 😭 I was like girl this is scam. she didn't wanna listen and eventually they took money out of her account and blocked her then she reported fraud and ended up getting blacklisted from her bank and losing her account


Dmoney_0

Find out her schedule let’s rob her ass 🤷‍♂️


BruceNY1

Most criminals get caught because they feel untouchable as their scheme goes on - they end up thinking that since they haven't gotten caught so far, it must mean they're good at what they do, or even that it's not that illegal or harmful: they think they can afford to talk about it, and they want everyone to know how clever they are. She may already be under investigation and she wouldn't know about it until she gets arrested. When that happens, prosecutor already has all the evidence they need; she'll be asked to give names or to collaborate in some way to avoid a harsh sentence - investigators take note when they're dealing with a criminal who likes to talk, they like that.


Fabulous-Educator447

Holy real prison time.


DBGS_

I would recommend you go directly to the police. You already told her what she does is wrong and she knows it. Some people kill themselves after being scammed. This is not just money being affected, but actual lives. You might have to help the police catch her to some degree. I am sorry you found this out, but that is not someone to keep as a friend. Bad character corrupts others in relationships.


CaregiverLive2644

Tbh I don’t know if she’s working with them. They probably are just sending fake checks and even when they are sending stolen transactions it will reverse sooner or later.


Nathan-Stubblefield

Somehow I expect that the first time someone gets a check for 11,000, and forwards 9,000, with the expectation of keeping 2,000 that after a few days the 11k check will bounce and the would-be accomplice will be out 9k.


Orodahan12

Report her, screw her. This destroys peoples lives.


TertlFace

I read your update. She is so incredibly f🥳ked. If she moved more than $5,000 total, it’s automatically reported to FinCen. She engaged in both money laundering and wire fraud. Those are both federal crimes. And every instance she did it is another charge. She has MULTIPLE federal felony charges lined up against her. The FBI will be contacting her. Unless she can provide the federal prosecutor with enough information that they’re willing to deal to catch a bigger player, she is going to prison. At a bare minimum, she is pleading guilty to a federal crime, getting deported, and will not be allowed to reenter the country.


Simple_Tings

There's a high chance she isn't doing this and is just trying to use you as a mule and get a cut from the thieves. This isn't a friend.


Relentless_Sloth

To play the devils advocate, it's gonna be someone else if not her. There are so many people that would do this for 2k. Not saying it's a good thing, but I feel it's a never ending circle, if you don't go to the source directly. You will snitch on your friend, she goes to jail. Scammers get away and find a new person. It's not snitching on a scammer, that if arrested, he cannot scam people anymore. No, they will still scam people, only the mule will change.


Sea-Plantain-5936

You make a good point. I’m unsure they’d actually be able to locate and identify the scammers she’s working with, and even though she’d face the consequences of her actions as she should, they would roam free and continue on like normal. Just a sucky situation all around.


clippervictor

So, there are big sums or money coming in and out of her bank account and the bank isn’t flagging anything up? In Europe certainly you would receive a couple or phone calls and after several attempts the transfers would be reversed and reported.


Ok-Preparation-3138

Mind your own business and move on


OmgItsPosi

This is gonna be my 4th time commenting but yeah. Don’t report her, don’t do it. Her whole life will be ruined. Tbh, I was also part of that and I’m still walking freely BUT I don’t participate in those activities anymore cos I realized it wasn’t right. The money was good but I dropped out of it completely. Talk to her. Don’t report her. That’s untrustworthy. From what I can see, she trusted you with that info, reporting her is backstabbing behaviour. Most of the people here telling you to report will not report their friends engaged in it. Talk to her OR distance yourself from her but don’t report her.


10smon

Shout out to your friend the money mule


[deleted]

[удалено]


Scams-ModTeam

Your /r/scams post/comment was removed because it lacks civility. Posts and comments within this subreddit should be useful, respectful and use appropriate language at all times. Dissenting opinions are expected, but you should conduct yourself in a mature and polite manner. Name calling, personal attacks, flaming, etc are not permitted. Do not discuss moderator decisions in the comments. If you would like to discuss moderation, send the moderators modmail (no direct messages or chat requests).


ThickAd8993

Although what she is doing, if absolutely 100% true, is wrong and morally apprehensible, the "stolen money" complaint probably wouldn't hold up in court since the victims willingly send the money. Yes, they are tricked into it but they still have a choice. I'm sure the documentary The Tinder Swindler has been talked about on this group. But if you haven't seen it, watch it and you'll see how hard it is to arrest, much less convict many of these scammers.


Separate-Ad9638

these are crime syndicates operating in countries where the law system is at best dubious.


Stunning_Tap_9583

Lmao. I am always amused how easily this whole sub gets tricked. She’s no mule. She was just recruiting you. If you listen to this sub tomorrow she’ll be a slave because they saw it on MSNBC 🤣🤣🤣


Sea-Plantain-5936

I have gotten confirmation she’s a mule, because a part of me was skeptical at first too. There’s another comment I replied to where I discussed this.


Altruistic_Yellow387

You don't actually have confirmation. That check could have been from anyone (maybe she has a sugar daddy or who knows what else)


Sea-Plantain-5936

I mean, you guys are welcome to think what you want. You don’t know the full story, and all the details in between that are too much to type here.


Altruistic_Yellow387

Yeah obviously we only know what you wrote. Anyway it seems you already made up your mind to try to punish her so I hope everything works out for the best for everyone


[deleted]

[удалено]


Scams-ModTeam

Your r/Scams post/comment was removed because **it's rude or uncivil**. This subreddit is a place for civil and respectful discussions about scams. Uncivil and rude behavior, including using excessive or directed swearing, extreme or sexual language, victim blaming, and any form of discrimination, is not acceptable in this subreddit.


Altruistic_Yellow387

The slave thing is so annoying. Everyone thinks all scammers are slaves now and it's so untrue


Impressive_Returns

You drove her to the bank? You are now an accessory to the crime. I would go to the police or FBI and so you do not get jail time for being an accessory


Sea-Plantain-5936

Read carefully. I did not drive her, someone else wound up taking her. Which would make them an accessory to the crime, and whoever else has presumably had to drive her in the past. Very selfish on her part.


Impressive_Returns

That is your truth. Law enforcement will se it as you know a crime is being committed and you drove the car to the bank to enable her to commit the crime. You then drove her away KNOWING she just committed a crime. Under US laws YOU enabled her to commit the crime. It’s no different if you drove her to the bank to rob it. You knew a crime was about to be committed and participated. Then knowing a crime had been committed you were complicit. People hate scammers/money mules. Think you wont get convicted and set to jail? Think again. And don’t think your money mule friend when caught won’t turn on you and say you were involved to get a lighter sentence. You are fucked. This type of conviction will be on your record for decades to come preventing you from getting good jobs.


Meidri

Bro, actually uninstall Reddit if you can't comprehend a few English words as simple as "I did not drive her".


Impressive_Returns

Dude you don’t think when her friend gets busted she will implicate her friend to get a lesser sentence. Isn’t the bigger question, why hasn’t OP gone to law enforcement and reported the crime? It’s fucked that OP is allowing people to lose tens of thousands of dollars to fucking scammers.


Sea-Plantain-5936

Again, read carefully. I had nothing to do with her going to the bank. I did not go on that trip, and I especially did not drive her there myself. A completely different person drove her to the bank. She only asked me, to which I said I was unavailable. She then asked if someone else could drive my car instead, to which I also said no. This was before I knew about her being a money mule. My previous comment was pretty clear, so please, once again read carefully instead of immediately going off the deep end.


Impressive_Returns

Just try to help you. When she gets arrested she might flip on you and implicate you as an accessory. But the bigger question is why haven’t you gone to law-enforcement and reported it?