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Is someone asking to move money through my account a scam?

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USPublished 6 October 2026 · Written by BuyMeWhiskey Editorial Team · How we check facts

Yes, it can be a scam and may make you a money mule. A request to receive and forward money for someone else is a major warning sign. Do not move the funds until your bank confirms the payment and its proper handling.

Next question: How can you tell whether an urgent financial phone call is a scam? →

Contact your bank using its genuine fraud channel if someone has asked you to receive or forward money through your account.

Read FCA money-transfer scam guidance

Why receiving money can still be the scam

People sometimes assume fraud only happens when money leaves their own account. That is too narrow. The FCA warns that criminals may ask someone to accept money into a bank account and then forward it elsewhere, often in return for a fee or percentage. The account holder can become a money mule without understanding where the money came from.

The warning sign is the role you are being asked to play, not whether the first transaction looks like a credit. A payment can arrive legitimately and then be subject to reversal, investigation or fraud claims. If you quickly send an equivalent amount onward, you may be left dealing with the loss or with questions about the transaction chain.

Common stories used to make the request sound normal

The explanation may be framed as helping a friend, receiving a refund, processing an international payment, handling a business transaction, testing a payment system or collecting money for another person. The story can change, but the structure is similar: someone you do not fully know wants access to your account’s payment rails.

Another warning sign is being asked to use your own name or account because the other person says their bank is unavailable, their account is frozen, they are overseas, or they cannot pass a verification check. Those are reasons to stop and independently verify, not reasons to lend your banking identity.

Do not do it. Your bank account and someone else’s bank account should remain separate. A request for you to log in to a person’s banking service, use credentials they provide, receive security codes, or make payments on their behalf introduces serious security and fraud risks.

Never reuse your own passwords or security codes in someone else’s account, and never disclose a one-time authentication code simply because the person says it is needed to “approve” the transfer. Your bank’s security controls are designed to establish who is authorising a payment.

What if the money has already arrived?

Do not spend it, withdraw it or send it back to an account chosen by the sender. Contact your bank through a verified channel and explain that you received an unexpected payment. Let the bank tell you how it should be handled.

This matters because “send it back” is not always the same as reversing the original transaction. A scammer can use a legitimate account to send money and then ask you to forward a separate payment elsewhere. You want the bank to establish the correct route.

Why are repeated MoneyGram or transfer requests dangerous?

Using your name to make multiple transfers for another person can make the transactions appear to be your activity. Even when the other person supplies the money, your identity is attached to the transfer instructions. That is exactly the kind of arrangement that should trigger a pause.

Do not let a promise of commission turn your personal account into a payment service. If you genuinely run a business that handles payments, use an appropriate regulated business arrangement rather than an improvised personal-account workaround.

What should you do if you are worried?

Stop sending or withdrawing the money.
Do not give the sender passwords, PINs or authentication codes.
Contact your bank using the number on your card or its official website.
Keep messages, payment references and screenshots.
If you think fraud has already occurred, report it through the appropriate fraud-reporting route.

The FCA says transferring money for someone can be linked to organised crime and can expose the person doing the transfer to serious consequences. Treat an unexplained receive-and-forward request as a fraud warning, even when the sender claims to be a friend.

What if it really is a friend?

A genuine friend should be willing to explain the payment through a normal, traceable route that does not require you to disguise the source or destination. You can refuse to receive funds into your account and suggest that the person speak directly to their bank or use an established payment service in their own name.

Trust should not require you to take the banking risk. A friend asking for ordinary help is different from asking you to become the intermediary in a chain of unexplained transfers.

Worked example

Illustrative scenario: someone you met online says they will send £2,000 into your account and asks you to forward £1,850 to a different account, keeping the remainder as your “fee”. The arithmetic appears attractive, but the safety problem is more important than the apparent margin.

Money received: £2,000.
Money requested onward: £1,850.
Illustrative amount left: £2,000 − £1,850 = £150.

The £2,000 and £1,850 are illustrative, not a quoted scam offer. The key point is that you should not treat the £150 difference as earned income until your bank confirms the transaction is legitimate. If the incoming payment is fraudulent or later reversed, forwarding the separate £1,850 can leave you exposed.

Keep the messages and payment references so the bank can trace the sequence if it asks questions.

Is it safe to accept money into my account for someone else?#

Not unless you understand exactly why the payment is being made and your bank is comfortable with the arrangement. An unexplained request to receive funds and forward them is a classic money-mule warning. Use your own account for your own transactions, not as a pass-through for strangers.

What if the person only wants to deposit money, not withdraw it?#

That does not make it safe. The problem can arise when money is deposited into your account and then becomes mixed with your funds, withdrawn, transferred onward or used to support another transaction. Tell the bank about an unexplained payment rather than assuming a credit is harmless.

Someone sent me money by mistake. Can I send it back?#

Do not automatically send it to a different account or follow a sender’s instructions. Contact your bank through a genuine channel and explain that the payment was unsolicited or unexpected. The bank can tell you how to return or resolve it without creating a second, separate transfer that could be fraudulent.

Why would someone want me to use my name for money transfers?#

Using your identity can make transfers look like ordinary activity from a genuine account holder. That is one reason repeated transfers in your name are a serious warning sign. You should not allow someone else to use your personal account, payment credentials or identification as a substitute for their own banking arrangements.

What should I do if I already transferred the money?#

Contact your bank immediately using the number or app you normally use, explain that you may have been involved in a scam, and give them the payment details. Do not wait for the other person to explain. Preserve messages and receipts, and follow the bank’s fraud instructions.

Could moving money for someone else get me into legal trouble?#

Potentially, yes. The FCA warns that people who transfer money for criminals can become money mules and may be committing a serious criminal offence. The exact consequences depend on the facts and your knowledge. Do not assume that calling the person a “friend” removes the risk.

Keep reading

Next question →How can you tell whether an urgent financial phone call is a scam?

Sources

Figures were checked against these sources before publication. If a rule changes, we update the page and show the new date.

General information, not personal financial advice. Rules depend on your circumstances; check the official source or speak to a regulated adviser before acting.