The money mule problem is much bigger than most people (and maybe even most financial institutions) realize. Criminals are laundering vast sums of money ($3.1 trillion last year, per NASDAQ) through the global financial system. New data out of the UK confirms mule activity is growing, underreported, and misunderstood.

Cifas, a UK-based non-profit that works to prevent fraud through industry partnerships, in partnership with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), found:

Money mule cases increased 11% in the UK in the first half of last year.

One-fifth of Brits believe money mule activity is legal.

Almost 200,000 money mules had their accounts closed by banks between Jan. 2022 and Sep. 2023.

People aged 25-34 are most likely to commit first-party fraud.

True scale of the problem

This increase in reported mule cases demonstrates the need for continued action. We can attribute some of this 11% spike to banks paying better attention to bad accounts within their portfolios than they once did, but social media has also fuelled an increase in illegal activity in both the UK and around the world.

The high number of mule accounts closed over a 21-month period adds further perspective. And yet only a little more than one-third of these 200,000 closed accounts were reported to the National Fraud Database (hosted by Cifas). This is made still more complicated by disparities in mule account offboarding rates, which range from 6% to 66% depending on the institution.

Public awareness

One thing that is certain: The general public needs greater awareness on what constitutes a money mule and the consequences of partaking in mule activity.

22% of those surveyed profess to not knowing that acting as a money mule is illegal. I’m certain this percentage would be much lower (and more UK adults would know money mule activity is against the law) if the survey had asked about the origin of funds moved.

As called out by Cifas, and explored in our Global Money Mule Networks report, money muling is not a victimless crime. Rather, it facilitates other crimes, including some of the most heinous ones imaginable (drug trafficking, human smuggling, etc.). If people knew this, perhaps they would think twice about their willingness to participate.

Fighting money mule activity is key for a cleaner financial system. The efforts from UK banks are encouraging, but more is needed to increase awareness and discourage people, especially the younger generation, from being drawn in.

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