Money mule
Someone who moves criminal funds through their own bank account — an offence, even unwittingly.
A money mule is someone who moves criminal proceeds through their own bank account, wittingly or not. Fraudsters recruit mules with fake job adverts — 'payment processor', 'financial agent', work that means receiving funds and forwarding them for a cut — or through romance and social-media approaches. The money passing through is stolen, often from other scam victims, and routing it this way hides the trail.
People treat it as harmless easy cash, but allowing your account to be used this way is a criminal offence in the UK; it can lead to a frozen or closed account, lasting trouble getting banking, and prosecution. Students and young people are targeted heavily because the pitch is dressed up as flexible part-time work. The safe rule is simple: never let anyone route money through your account, and never share your login or card so someone else can. A genuine employer never needs to run funds through your personal account — an offer that asks you to is recruiting a mule, not hiring staff.