Clicking on one of these dangerous hashtags could land you in prison for 14 years

Social media can sometimes feel like an absolute mind field. With millions upon millions of posts to choose from, particularly on the likes of Instagram and Twitter , it can be difficult to know where to find what you're looking for without the use of hashtags.

But while the metadata tag might seem innocent, if used incorrectly, it could land you in serious trouble.

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According to bank Santander , an alarming amount of people under the age of 25 are being tricked into clicking on fraudulent hashtags and becoming money mules - a crime which can see you landed with a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

Money mules are individuals who allow criminals to use their bank accounts to transfer money associated with illegal activity, and are more often than not offered cash in return for doing so.

Santander says that the amount of money mules has increased by 29% in the last year alone, with 49% of them being under the age of 25.

70% of people are said to be unaware about what a money mule actually is - a factor which illustrates just how valuable unsuspecting social media users can be to criminals.

Santander's Head Of Fraud Strategy, Chris Ainsley, said: "Its alarming to see not just how criminals prey on unsuspecting social media users, but how many people are unaware of what a money mule even is. It takes just a few clicks to become embroiled in this type of crime, but the consequences can have a lifelong effect.”

With these findings in mind, Santander commissioned former scam artist Tony Sales to investigate how criminals use hashtags to trick innocent people into becoming money mules.

As part of his investigation, Tony found the ten most commonly used hashtags for luring social media users into becoming money mules.

According to Tony, the ten most dangerous hashtags are:

1. #Moneyflipsuk
 
2. #Mflipssss
 
3. #Deetsandflips
 
4. #Deetsandflipping
 
5. #legitmoneyflips
 
6. #flipsanddeets
 
7. #PayPalFlip
 
8. #RealMoneyTransfers
 
9. #UkFlips
 
10. #EasyMoney

Speaking about his findings, the reformed fraudster said: "The hashtags used to recruit money mules act as bait and form part of a secret language used to entice people into criminal activity. That’s why it’s so important to expose these hashtags for what they are – a fast track to a criminal record.”