A construction worker addicted to online rummy, a veteran’s son dabbling in cryptocurrency, and a factory worker chasing online jobs three very different lives that converged on the same path. All became “money mules,” the disposable human infrastructure behind global cybercrime.
The Invisible Workforce of Cybercrime
In India’s swelling digital economy, investigators are uncovering a hidden class of citizens powering scams: “money mules.” These individuals, often young and financially vulnerable, lend their bank accounts sometimes knowingly, often not to cybercriminals who funnel stolen money through them before converting it into cryptocurrency.
Law enforcement officials describe mule accounts as the backbone of investment frauds, “digital arrest” scams, and multinational syndicates. “The mules are the first link investigators can trace, but they are also the first to fall,” a Pune cybercrime officer noted.
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Stories of Debt, Addiction, and Easy Promises
The Sangli construction labourer was battling alcoholism and online gaming debts when two men promised him quick money. Within a week, ₹19 lakh had moved through accounts in his name. He received just ₹23,000 before police arrested him as a mule.
In Mumbai, the son of an armed forces veteran was approached on Telegram while experimenting with crypto. He allowed handlers to use his account, which processed ₹90 lakh in two days. Paid in USDT tokens, he later became a recruiter himself, blurring the line between victim and perpetrator.
And in Pune, a 21-year-old ice cream factory worker desperate for better pay was lured into opening a high-limit bank account. When promised monthly payments failed to arrive, he discovered his account had already been flagged for cyber fraud.
A Growing Web That Fuels Global Syndicates
Police say mule handlers recruit through personal referrals or social media groups openly offering cash for account access. Some target workers at tea stalls and eateries; others promise crypto earnings through Telegram and Facebook.
Once accounts are compromised, money trails vanish into layers of transfers and cryptocurrency conversions often routed to masterminds in Dubai or China. While big players remain hidden, the mules face criminal charges.
Interpol’s campaign “Your Account, Your Crime” has highlighted this growing global crisis, stressing that individuals cannot escape liability by claiming ignorance. In India, thousands of mule accounts detected by central agencies underline a troubling reality: citizens desperate for income are being turned into expendable cogs in a vast machine of cybercrime.