My friend asked me to transfer money from my bank account to her overseas' family because she has reached her limit of overseas remittance. She transferred AUD$4,000 to my account and asked me to transfer this money for her via an online APP. I'm not sure if this is legal or not. But I do feel something wrong with it. Could you please help me to figure out if it is against the law? I would appreciate it.

marked as duplicate by Rupert Morrish, Charles E. Grant, Peter K., MD-Tech, Nathan L May 22 at 14:38


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    What governing body set the overseas remittance limit? Is this a government limit literally stopping the next transfer, is this some tax issue, is it the bank that would charge a different fee? – quid May 22 at 1:19
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    Is this a real friend, meaning someone you have known in person (in real life, not on line) for a long time? – DJClayworth May 22 at 1:30
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    Also, what country are you in and what country is the destination for the money? – DJClayworth May 22 at 1:31
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    This smells like a scam. I wouldn’t send a dime anywhere. And I wouldn’t even trust the $4k has been legitimately deposited, either. If it’s a scam, that deposit will bounce and you’ll be on the hook for any withdrawals. – Rocky May 22 at 3:47
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    I do wish that people on the interwebs would stop using "friend" as a synonym for "some random person I've never actually met who's trying to con me out of a lot of money". – brhans May 22 at 11:25

The more important question: What kind of friend is this? Is this someone you see several times a week in person? Or is this a person on the internet that you have nice conversations with, but who you have never seen in your life?

It is a typical scam that someone transfers money into your account, you send it elsewhere, and a week or two later your bank tells you there was something wrong with the original transfer and takes the money back - you are out of pocket by $4,000, with no chance of getting that money back, and your "friend" will never contact you again.

It is of course perfectly legal to send your hard-earned cash to a scammer. Just like it is legal to give the money to strangers in the street, burn it (in most countries), or use it as toilet paper.

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    I think your last paragraph could be potentially misleading. It's not illegal to send your hard-earned cash to a scammer. It might be illegal to send someone else's stolen cash to a scammer; because at that point there is a paper trail tied to you. Obviously the cash doesn't even need to be stolen, and you could be unknowingly laundering it, which still presents legal issues. – JMac May 22 at 13:24
