Recruiting money mules on instagram: a qualitative examination of the online involvement mechanisms of cybercrime
L. M. J. Bekkers, Rutger Leukfeldt
Abstract
There are reports that criminal networks advertise on social media to recruit new members. In this paper, we will focus on money mules and examine how they become involved in cybercrime on Instagram. Money mules are used to hide the financial trail of a crime and are thus indispensable for cybercriminal networks. Yet, there is a dearth of research on this group. Based on keywords derived from the literature, 43 Dutch Instagram accounts were identified that are most likely used to recruit money mules. We analyzed the content of said accounts in order to map the recruitment techniques used by criminals online. Insights from previous literature on offline recruitment were used to provide an initial framework for the analysis. Thereafter, results were considered in the light of situational crime prevention. In this article, we will argue that while Instagram indeed offers possibilities for criminals to recruit money mules, different situational strategies can be applied to prevent this. This study underlines the relevance of social media in criminological research and encourages future studies to explore this innovative method further.