Stop money laundering before it starts.

Our Mule Account Detection solution enables fraud and financial crime teams to identify a majority of the active mule accounts on their books, both proactively defending against losses and streamlining money laundering investigations.

See the web,
not just the thread.

Organized crime continues to improve the efficiency and lack of traceability of its money movements, employing well-coordinated networks of mule accounts. Detecting suspicious behavior early — before these accounts can move any money — is crucial. BioCatch’s Mule Account Detection solution empowers fraud teams with early detection, revealing hidden linkages through multi-threaded fraud telemetry spanning application, device, network, and transaction data – synthesized with behavioral intelligence. This approach delivers an early and continuous view into the full story behind every interaction, without disrupting genuine users.

Performance
at scale

2M↑

bad accounts identified and reported by BioCatch customers in 2024

98%

of BioCatch MAD solution deployments recognized active mule accounts at the institution before existing system alerts

96%

of BioCatch customers deploying our MAD solution detect existing mule accounts within weeks of deployment

70%

of BioCatch customers deploying our MAD solution identified newly created accounts as mules before those accounts received their first incoming transfer

How it works

Our solution proactively alerts banks to a range of mule activity by analyzing multi-threaded fraud telemetry synthesized with behavioral intelligence—an often-overlooked data source that, when applied with deep expertise, becomes a powerful tool for mule account detection. These integrated insights create early visibility into suspicious account behavior and uncover hidden criminal networks. Below is a snapshot of the key behavioral patterns we use to uncover mule accounts and criminal networks.

Sleeper accounts

These accounts can remain dormant for extended periods before abruptly becoming active. Common signs of suspicious behavior include sudden logins, new deposits, and rapid outgoing payments—indicators of potential misuse.

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Login events

Suspicious login patterns often involve frequent access without any associated transactions, raising behavioral anomalies and red flags across login telemetry. These accounts may also display geographically dispersed logins and consistent use of VPNs or proxies to obscure their true origin.

Activity trend changes

Sudden user behavioral shifts such as access from new or multiple devices or repeated failed login attempts, or use of emulators and multiple banking apps on a single device trigger high-risk indicators. These patterns often reveal a change in account control or intent, signaling that the account may be repurposed for mule activity or other forms of financial crime.

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Payment patterns

Mule accounts often show sudden surges in payment frequency. These payments may also involve unusual or inconsistent amounts that differ from the accountholder's typical behavior profile.

Introducing BioCatch Link

BioCatch Link, formerly known as Scout, is the latest addition to our Connect platform. This new graphical user interface plays an integral role in revealing the depths of global criminal networks and money laundering operations. Link utilizes link analysis and BioCatch's proprietary technology to construct visualization clusters within the data galaxy delivering comprehensive visibility into seemingly unrelated accounts, exposing coordinated fraud activity that traditional transaction monitoring often overlooks. Analysts can drill down into specific clusters to further investigate activity across accounts, devices, network, and transactions, while identifying their connections to prioritize investigations.

How well do you understand mule accounts?

Take our interactive knowledge assessment to find out. Designed by BioCatch’s experts in behavioral intelligence and mule detection, this short assessment challenges your understanding of how mule accounts form, operate, and impact financial institutions. See where your organization stands compared to peers and uncover insights into the behaviors that separate real customers from criminal networks.

A proactive approach to money laundering prevention

With a multi-telemetry analysis continuously synthesized with behavioral and cognitive intelligence, our Mule Account Detection solution recognizes illegal money movement activities early, enabling financial institutions to detect mule accounts and prevent bad money flow, thereby reducing the number of non-genuine user accounts in their portfolio month over month. The accuracy of detection enhances investigative efficiency and speed, ultimately reducing both financial losses and operational expenses.

Exposing the network

Money mule networks hidden within the financial system enable scams, money laundering, and organized crime to operate on a largescale. Mule activity touches nearly every part of a financial institution, making collaboration across fraud, AML, digital, customer experience, finance, and leadership essential. With BioCatch's Mule Account Detection solution, banks can detect subtle behavioral patterns that reveal mule activity before money moves. Download BioCatch's Global Mules Report now and uncover how behavioral intelligence is revolutionizing fraud detection. Stay ahead, stay informed, and safeguard your financial ecosystem today.

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Together, we can prevent fraud and financial crime.

Join our global advisors and fraud intelligence experts for a 30-minute deep dive into the latest tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) now exploited by fraudsters in your country to scam your customers and harm your brand.