ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Money trail

The money trail is like following a path to figure out where money came from and where it went. Imagine you have a cookie and your friend wants to know who gave it to you. You can follow a trail of crumbs on the floor to figure out who gave you the cookie. In the same way, people follow the money trail to figure out who gave money to someone or where the money was spent.

Let's say you have some coins and you want to buy a toy from a store. You give the coins to the store and they give you the toy. The money trail in this case is that the coins came from you and went to the store in exchange for the toy. The store can use that money to buy new toys or pay their employees, and the employees can use that money to buy food or clothes. The money keeps moving around like this, so people can follow the money trail to see where it has been spent and who has been paid with it.

Sometimes, people want to know the money trail for other reasons, like uncovering illegal activities. If someone has stolen money from a bank, for example, they might try to hide it by spending it on things like fancy cars, jewelry, or expensive vacations. But if people can follow the money trail, they might be able to figure out who stole the money and where it went.

Overall, the money trail is like a path that can lead people to uncover where money came from, where it went, and who was involved in those transactions.
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