A "job" wants to use my bank account
The situation
A too-easy job offer — "financial agent", "payment processor", package reshipping, or a stranger/online "friend" asking to route a transfer through your account "because theirs is blocked". Often aimed specifically at international students who just opened German accounts.
The way out
This is money laundering with your name on it — the only move is out:
- Refuse and cut contact. Whatever the story (inheritance, crypto, customs), the pattern is identical: stolen money enters your account, you forward it, the fraud investigation finds you.
- Already received money? Do not forward or withdraw it. Call your bank's fraud line immediately and tell them everything — banks distinguish sharply between mules who self-report instantly and those who "helped" first.
- Already forwarded something? Bank first (they may recall the transfer), then police report (Anzeige) — voluntarily and fast. A prompt self-report is your best protection; as a foreign national, a money-laundering investigation threatens your residence permit far beyond any fine.
- Recognise the tells for next time: pay for "receiving transfers", urgency, secrecy, chat-app-only contact, and salaries wildly above the work described.
- Real employers pay you for work, into your account, from their company account — never the reverse direction.
General information, not legal advice. If your case has deadlines or legal stakes, free migration counselling (Migrationsberatung) exists in every city — use it.