Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Zainuddin Yaacob said a “mule” account referred to an account that was allowed or given by its owner to the syndicates to be used by a third party without being aware of the real motive of the usage.

According to Zainuddin, the syndicates deceived victims, causing them to “loan” their auto teller machine (ATM) cards and pin numbers with payments of between RM200 and RM2,000 for each transaction.

He said these people were drawn into the scheme by advertisements on social media or by “friends” offering them a certain amount in payment.

“Among their excuses are that the accounts are needed for business purposes. The targets include those in need of money, like drug addicts, housewives and students,” he told Bernama recently.

He said in certain cases, they were also individuals who had borrowed money from Ah Long (loan sharks). They were told to surrender their ATM cards and pin numbers as one of the conditions for repayment.

Zainuddin said last year, 18,130 mule accounts were frozen. This year (until Oct 9), similar action was taken against 16,429 such accounts.

“A total of 6,409 account holders were charged last year and 3,176 were charged from January till Oct 9 this year.

“These offences come under Section 412 of the Penal Code and Section 29(1) of the Minor Offences Act 1955 for possessing illegal property,” he said.

Zainuddin said while most account holders were not aware that their accounts were being used for illegal purposes, others had purposely given their account numbers for online cheating.

He said those who cooperated with online cheating syndicates and intentionally provided their account numbers had clearly violated laws, and action could be taken against them.

If convicted, they can be jailed for five years or fined, or both.