The following post was written by PhishTank member funchords, a very active member of the community, and currently the top submitter to PhishTank.

Submission 22779 is such a professional-looking employment ad, one might even wonder why it was submitted as a suspected phish site. Most likely, redpriest realized that the ad was looking for a Money Mule — a person who launders phishy money through their personal accounts and moves it overseas.

It’s both illegal and risky — and most Money Mules end up getting burned as soon as the phish-site victims realize that their credit cards or identities have been compromised. In addition to possible trouble with the police, the Money Mule gets to pay back the banks and institutions that were involved in the fraud. Money Mules take all the heat while the real crooks disappear into anonymity.

So why was Submission 22779 marked “Verified: Is NOT a phish?” Because, even though it probably is related to phishing, it really is not a phish. It isn’t masquerading as an institution one already trusts in order to obtain financial information.

While PhishTank endeavors to quickly and accurately identify Phish, our friends at CastleCops.com specialize in working with government and internet concerns to shut these criminals down. CastleCops has an e-mail address to report suspected Money Mule advertisements: mules@castlecops.com.

Got a phish? As always, throw it in the PhishTank. But if the crooks are “fishing” for a Money Mule, then report it to mules@castlecops.com.