Money mules: Teens and young adults most likely to be targeted

Cifas told BBC Newsbeat it considered social media to be a “key enabler” for recruiting money mules, while the NCA says TikTok and Instagram are “very prevalent” in cases it’s investigating.

Instagram owner Meta said it worked with UK banks and investigators to tackle scams and stop criminal activity.

TikTok said that, in spring 2024, it removed 95.9% of videos violating its fraud and scam policies before they were reported.

Snapchat’s parent company Snap Inc. said it routinely saves suspected illegal content and makes it available to authorities upon request.

The NCA said its work led to 48 money mules being arrested in one month this autumn.

Nick Sharp, the deputy director of its National Economic Crime Centre, told BBC Newsbeat that cases were “increasingly” resulting in arrests.

“If you’ve been given an opportunity which says you can get rich quick, there is no legitimate job out there which allows that,” he says.

“No one will ever need access to your bank account so if that’s happening, report it.

“But even better, don’t go there in the first place.”