The involvement mechanisms of cybercrime: Explaining previous exposure of young people to money mule recruiters

Abstract

Money muling is an urgent problem among young people. Money mules refer to individuals whose bank account is used to hide and launder the profits of financial-economic cybercrimes. They are key actors in the cybercriminal ecosystem. In order to add to the current body of knowledge and better understand and disrupt pathways into cybercrime, this study explores which individual factors relate to previous exposure to money mule recruiters. Drawing upon existing literature, we developed a survey that measured a number of key demographics and social-psychological variables related to cybercrime involvement. This survey was completed by around 2000 Dutch individuals, aged 16–25. Generalized estimating equation binary logistic regression models revealed that a history of being approached by money mule recruiters was associated with being male and living in large cities, as well as with attitudes in favour of money muling and a higher perceived likelihood of being approached in the future. However, follow-up analysis revealed that relationships were dependent on whether young people were approached in the physical world or online, in which recruiters on social media discriminated less in their potential targets.