Threads user publicly contacted monobank after his account was blocked and admitted that he had «rented» it out. In the post, he wrote that he regretted the decision and would like to use the service again.
Threads user publicly contacted monobank after his account was blocked and admitted that he had «rented» it out. In the post, he wrote that he regretted the decision and would like to use the service again.
This is stated in the user’s post in Threads, where he wrote: «I rented out my phone out of stupidity, as they say, without a phone and life is bad. I really regret the situation that led to the blocking of my account. It was a lesson for me, and I drew conclusions. It is important for me to use your service.» The story drew attention to the scheme, which in Ukraine has long been described as «renting» a card, account or bank account for conducting other people’s transactions.
The essence of such a scheme is that a person is offered quick money for access to their card, details, application or account. Sometimes they are simply asked to provide an IBAN or card for transfers, sometimes to withdraw cash, transfer funds further or even open a new account or individual entrepreneur in their name. Formally, one person remains the owner of the account, but in fact others use it to drive other people’s money through it. It is such participants that the NBU calls «drops» or «money mules».
For the bank, this looks like suspicious activity: atypical receipts, rapid withdrawals, a large number of transactions, transfers that do not correspond to the client’s usual behavior. In this case, financial monitoring can stop operations, request explanations, or even restrict access to the service. For the account owner himself, the risk is not limited to blocking: the National Bank directly warns that «money mules» are criminally liable for complicity in a crime, and may also lose access to banking services and get serious reputation problems.
Such schemes are usually disguised as «easy part-time work» without skills and interviews. A person is promised a reward for a few simple actions, and the real purpose of the account is not explained or presented as something formal. As a result, it is the card or account owner who bears all the questions about the origin of the funds, even if he claims that he did not know all the details. That is why the story with Threads went beyond a private complaint about blocking and actually became a public admission of participation in one of the most widespread financial schemes of recent years.
The NBU separately explains that the sale or «rent» of an account, card, or access to online banking is not a household service or an innocent way to earn extra money, but a mechanism that fraudsters use to transfer and launder money. This is why banks are increasingly reacting to such cases, and the term «money mule» itself has already become an official part of the regulator’s communication about payment fraud.
Previously, dev.ua wrote about how Ukrainian banks and financial companies joined the memorandum on transparency in the payment services market, which involves combating «drop schemes» and reducing transfer limits.
