4 ms·

Are you in the US? Don't 'know your customer' laws ensure that no bank account is owned by an anon?

• objclxt 10y ago
  > Don't 'know your customer' laws ensure that no bank account is owned by an anon? Unless your scammer is really, really stupid these accounts are in the names of third party patsies who are promised some cut or percentage of the amount, or have been conned into thinking they're helping someone out (usually the money would then be transferred from that US account to somewhere foreign via western union or the like).
  • tim333 10y ago
    Or in the name of some other person who has no idea the account exists. In the UK you basically need a utility bill and a photocopy of a passport to open an account which is not that hard to fake.
• patio11 10y ago
  Fraudsters frequently use "smurfs", who are often less than sophisticated, to get around this. Pretend you're a not-too-savvy-about-international-finance person in the US who, because you have a pulse and are at least minimally socially established, has a checking account. The Internets tell you that you can make good money working from home as an accounts payable clerk. On showing up to work on the first day, your new boss tells you that the job is occasionally getting an email with instructions regarding an incoming wire transfer into your bank account, with instructions to keep 10% for yourself (your salary, obviously) and forward 90% to the supplier he tells you. Totally aboveboard, right? Money laundering is a fascinating, fascinating topic.
• jeppebemad 10y ago
  I'm in Denmark. We didn't get that far in the conversation though, but I'm sure the scammer had protective measures - like the ones mentioned by other replies - to prevent being caught easily after a transfer.