Business ProfileforKoro GMBH

On May 5, 2017, BBB has verified that the company is not registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State as required by Pennsylvania law.  Also, the address used by the company at 11 Stainwix St., Pittsburgh, PA 15222, is not a valid registered address with the Allegheny County Assessment Office.

These “companies” target individuals who are having trouble finding viable employment. Consumers are lured by advertisements promising high wages, and little or no education or experience.  Consumers are asked to give personal information (social security number, bank account information, credit card information etc.) to the company before or during the hiring process which can be used for identity theft & money laundering.  Consumers are never actually hired by the company or have a very short lived career.   

Legitimate companies offering employment will not require that a new hire make money transfers, purchase gift cards, and open new offices especially while under a probationary period.

Money Mules

Money Mules Are Used to Commit Fraud. “Money mules” are people who are used to transport and launder stolen money or some kind of merchandise. Criminals may even recruit money mules to use stolen credit card information. Individuals being used as money mules may be willing participants; however, many money mules are not aware that they are being used to commit fraud. The individuals being used as money mules are not the only victims; the larger scheme is designed to extract money from an organization or from other people. Schemes May Seem Like Legitimate Opportunities The most common money mule solicitations are disguised as “work from home” opportunities. These advertisements often target unsuspecting people who are interested in the convenience and flexibility of these types of jobs. Because there are companies that legitimately offer opportunities to work from home, users may not recognize malicious offers. Criminals often try to make the offer seem as legitimate as possible and may use the following approaches: carefully crafting the wording so that an email does not appear to be spam and is not caught by spam filters linking to fake but professionally designed websites that appear to belong to recognized companies or that promote a company that does not even exist posting some of these jobs on legitimate websites, including websites specifically for job seekers Typical Process After an individual agrees to be a money mule, the schemes tend to follow a similar process:

The “company” collects information from the “employee.” The information may include personal data such as the individual's Social Security number and bank account information. The company may also ask the employee to sign a seemingly official contract.

The company (or the employee, under the direction of the company) creates a financial account that the employee can use to collect and transfer funds.

The employee receives funds or some type of merchandise.

The employee is instructed to transfer the funds (usually keeping some percentage) to some other financial account or to deliver the merchandise to some third party. This financial account or third party is associated with the criminal. Often, the company will instruct the employee to use wire transfers for the funds, and there may be another money mule on the other end of the transfer with instructions to cash those funds.

Through this process, the criminal receives the stolen money or merchandise while hiding his or her involvement. Typically, a criminal will only use a money mule once. After the money mule performs his or her role in the transaction, the criminal usually dissolves the relationship completely and recruits someone else for the next scheme. Consequences can be severe if those involved are caught and prosecuted.  The criminal faces the most severe consequences. However, the other parties involved in the scheme may also face serious consequences.

The following are potential consequences for money mules:

Inaccessible bank accounts – During an investigation, law enforcement officials may freeze a money mules bank accounts. Being unable to access funds may create a significant financial burden. These activities may also have a long-term impact on credit scores.

Prosecution – Money mules may be prosecuted for their participation in these schemes.

Accountability for charges – In some cases, money mules are found personally responsible for repaying the losses suffered by the other victims.

Vulnerability of personal information – As described in the typical process, criminals often collect personal information from the money mules. It is possible that the criminals may use this information for other malicious purposes.