This resource provides an overview of scambling and micro laundering, an emerging financial crime typology that combines elements of online gambling, scams, money mule activity, and money laundering. It draws on international observations to explain how unlicensed online gambling platforms may be used to deceive victims, extract funds, and facilitate the movement of criminal proceeds through numerous low value transactions across multiple accounts.
The resource highlights key transactional, behavioural, and customer risk indicators associated with scambling activity, including unusual low value payment patterns, pass through account activity, links to online gambling platforms, and customers engaged in social media or online opportunities involving the transfer of funds. It also explores the broader risks and harms associated with illicit online gambling, including financial system abuse, regulatory evasion, money mule recruitment, and the exploitation of vulnerable individuals and communities. The resource aims to support reporting entities in identifying and responding to scambling and micro laundering activity through enhanced monitoring, risk based controls, and timely reporting, helping to prevent the establishment and growth of this emerging typology within New Zealand’s financial system.