“The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat.” -Napoleon Hill
Based on a large number of findings, reports show that one of the sources of real money for the wealthy comes from Passive income. In fact a large number people of rely on passive income to be able to finance their lifestyles.
65% of self-made millionaires have at least three streams of income. If retiring early or becoming financially independent is a goal of yours, you may want to consider setting up at least one stream of passive income. Passive income allows you to maximize your revenue without increasing maintenance and workload. That’s because the money you earn isn’t directly tied to the hours you work like a traditional salary. In many cases, such as writing a book or selling digital products, the work is front loaded and then the money comes in steadily afterwards.
If passive income is of interest to you, you have options. Some passive income streams require money to get started, while others require time. Decide which you have more to give, and build from there. This infographic from Lexington Law will help you figure out which passive income stream is right for you.
“Ignorantia legis neminem excusat”- A classic Latin Legal principle which means “ignorance of law excuses no one”
Fraud is fraud – So we’re taught.
Lately i’ve have been reading a series of articles and research publications on matters relating to the ever rising cases of financial crime. To be honest, these days it’s hard to look away and simply pretend nothing is wrong. Everything about financial crime is wrong. And it is a global concern. It’s not only wrecking and damaging economies, but also has a direct and harmful corrosive effect on people’s lives.
On this blog post, i intend to focus on a particular issue – Money Laundering. You’ve definitely come across a variety of personal stories, news articles, publications, podcasts, or so, where one or more controversial areas of money laundering are adressed. Money laundering and the environments of illicit financial flows are both prompting a great deal of discussions internationally.
So, what is Money Laundering? The International Compliance Association (ICA) describes Money Laundering as a “process by which criminals disguise the original ownership and control of the proceeds of criminal conduct by making such proceeds appear to have derived from a legitimate source.” (Read more)
And, how are ‘Money mules’ and ‘Money Laundering’ connected?- We’ll get to that in a few seconds.
First of all, there are a number ways this kind of financial crime can occur. The most common and obvious types of money laundering activities include Tax evasion and false accounting practices. How does that happen? The simple answer- The process of money laundering is said to be quite complex. (Read more)
According to an Europol article –MONEY MULING -Public awareness and prevention -“More than 90% of money mule transactions are linked to cybercrime. The illegally obtained money often comes from phishing, malware attacks, online auction fraud, e-commerce fraud, business e-mail compromise (bec) and CEO fraud, romance scams and holiday fraud (booking fraud) and many others.” (Read on)
The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), defines “Money Mules” as – “people who are used to transport and launder stolen money or some kind of merchandise.” In addition, criminals may even recruit ‘willing participants’ who by the way, may not even have the slightest hint that they are being used to commit fraud.
In fact, with today’s economic conditions, becoming a victim of money mule scams can be quite easy. Consider a common scenario you’ve probably seen like the “Work from home opportunities.” I can’t tell you enough how many times i’ve seen people in desperate situations looking for these kinds of opportunities. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the idea of earning money from the comfort of your own home as long as it is legitimate.
But if the ‘deal is too good’ and you probably ‘smell a rat’ then it’s high time to be on your guard.
To get some perspective on the scale of the problem, there’s an article on published Moneymules.co.uk which also explains how the money mules process works. Basically, the fraudsters may approach individuals anywhere. This could be online or even on the streets where they ask their victims to receive money into their banks accounts and transfer it to another account keeping some of the cash for themselves. – Doing this means that you’re a money mule and you’re involved in money laundering.
Another scenario-What would you do if you were targeted by someone who poses like an Army Captain? Or even a police officer? On an article published on abc, an FBI tells of a story of a fraudster who actually posed as an Army Captain. He informed his victim that he was trying to make arrangements to travel home. Long story short, the victim received $10,000 in his bank account. He was then instructed to ‘withdraw it in small increments’ and send it to a woman in Texas. (Read on)
Now we see why there’s high importance in being vigilant. As part of being aware, we should be keen to understand what the source of funds are, and the purpose of a retainer.
Here’s a short clip from CIFAS revealing some of the reasons why criminals need Money Mules
Here are more links to help you learn more about ‘money muling’
