A preliminary profiling of internet money mules: an Australian perspective

Manny Aston; Stephen McCombie; Ben Reardon; Paul Watters

doi:10.1109/UIC-ATC.2009.63

A preliminary profiling of internet money mules: an Australian perspective

Manny Aston^*, Stephen McCombie, Ben Reardon, Paul Watters

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference proceeding contribution › peer-review

30 Citations (Scopus)

308 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Along with the massive growth in Internet commerce over the last ten years there has been a corresponding boom in Internet related crime, or cybercrime. According to research recently released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2006 57,000 Australians aged 15 years and over fell victim to phishing and related Internet scams. Of all the victims of cybercrime, only one group is potentially subject to criminal prosecution: 'Internet money mules' - those who, either knowingly or unknowingly, launder money. This paper examines the demographic profile - specifically age, gender and postcode - related to 660 confirmed money mule incidents recorded during the calendar year 2007, for a major Australian financial institution. This data is compared to ABS statistics of Internet usage in 2006. There is clear evidence of a strong gender bias towards males, particularly in the older age group. This is directly relevant when considering education and training programs for both corporations and the community on the issues surrounding Internet money mule scams and in ultimately understanding the problem of Internet banking fraud.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Symposia and workshops on ubiquitous, autonomic and trusted computing in conjunction with the UIC2009 and ATC 2009 conferences
Subtitle of host publication	Brisbane, Australia, 7-9 July 2009
Editors	Robert Hsu, Mieso Denko
Place of Publication	Piscataway, N.J
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Pages	482-487
Number of pages	6
ISBN (Print)	9780769537375
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/UIC-ATC.2009.63
Publication status	Published - 2009
Event	Symposia and Workshops on Ubiquitous, Autonomic and Trusted Computing in Conjunction with the UIC'09 and ATC'09 Conferences, UIC-ATC 2009 - Brisbane, Australia Duration: 7 Jul 2009 → 9 Jul 2009

Other

Other	Symposia and Workshops on Ubiquitous, Autonomic and Trusted Computing in Conjunction with the UIC'09 and ATC'09 Conferences, UIC-ATC 2009
Country/Territory	Australia
City	Brisbane
Period	7/07/09 → 9/07/09

Bibliographical note

Copyright 2009 IEEE. Reprinted from Symposia and workshops on ubiquitous, autonomic and trusted computing in conjunction with the UIC2009 and ATC 2009 conferences : Brisbane, Australia, 7-9 July 2009. This material is posted here with permission of the IEEE. Such permission of the IEEE does not in any way imply IEEE endorsement of any of Macquarie Universityâ€™s products or services. Internal or personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution must be obtained from the IEEE by writing to [email protected]. By choosing to view this document, you agree to all provisions of the copyright laws protecting it.

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10.1109/UIC-ATC.2009.63

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Cite this

Aston, M., McCombie, S., Reardon, B., & Watters, P. (2009). A preliminary profiling of internet money mules: an Australian perspective. In R. Hsu, & M. Denko (Eds.), Symposia and workshops on ubiquitous, autonomic and trusted computing in conjunction with the UIC2009 and ATC 2009 conferences: Brisbane, Australia, 7-9 July 2009 (pp. 482-487). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). https://doi.org/10.1109/UIC-ATC.2009.63

Aston, Manny ; McCombie, Stephen ; Reardon, Ben et al. / A preliminary profiling of internet money mules : an Australian perspective. Symposia and workshops on ubiquitous, autonomic and trusted computing in conjunction with the UIC2009 and ATC 2009 conferences: Brisbane, Australia, 7-9 July 2009. editor / Robert Hsu ; Mieso Denko. Piscataway, N.J : Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2009. pp. 482-487

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title = "A preliminary profiling of internet money mules: an Australian perspective",

abstract = "Along with the massive growth in Internet commerce over the last ten years there has been a corresponding boom in Internet related crime, or cybercrime. According to research recently released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2006 57,000 Australians aged 15 years and over fell victim to phishing and related Internet scams. Of all the victims of cybercrime, only one group is potentially subject to criminal prosecution: 'Internet money mules' - those who, either knowingly or unknowingly, launder money. This paper examines the demographic profile - specifically age, gender and postcode - related to 660 confirmed money mule incidents recorded during the calendar year 2007, for a major Australian financial institution. This data is compared to ABS statistics of Internet usage in 2006. There is clear evidence of a strong gender bias towards males, particularly in the older age group. This is directly relevant when considering education and training programs for both corporations and the community on the issues surrounding Internet money mule scams and in ultimately understanding the problem of Internet banking fraud.",

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Aston, M, McCombie, S, Reardon, B & Watters, P 2009, A preliminary profiling of internet money mules: an Australian perspective. in R Hsu & M Denko (eds), Symposia and workshops on ubiquitous, autonomic and trusted computing in conjunction with the UIC2009 and ATC 2009 conferences: Brisbane, Australia, 7-9 July 2009. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Piscataway, N.J, pp. 482-487, Symposia and Workshops on Ubiquitous, Autonomic and Trusted Computing in Conjunction with the UIC'09 and ATC'09 Conferences, UIC-ATC 2009, Brisbane, Australia, 7/07/09. https://doi.org/10.1109/UIC-ATC.2009.63

A preliminary profiling of internet money mules: an Australian perspective. / Aston, Manny; McCombie, Stephen; Reardon, Ben et al.
Symposia and workshops on ubiquitous, autonomic and trusted computing in conjunction with the UIC2009 and ATC 2009 conferences: Brisbane, Australia, 7-9 July 2009. ed. / Robert Hsu; Mieso Denko. Piscataway, N.J: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2009. p. 482-487.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference proceeding contribution › peer-review

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Aston M, McCombie S, Reardon B, Watters P. A preliminary profiling of internet money mules: an Australian perspective. In Hsu R, Denko M, editors, Symposia and workshops on ubiquitous, autonomic and trusted computing in conjunction with the UIC2009 and ATC 2009 conferences: Brisbane, Australia, 7-9 July 2009. Piscataway, N.J: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). 2009. p. 482-487 doi: 10.1109/UIC-ATC.2009.63

A preliminary profiling of internet money mules: an Australian perspective

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