Introduction
Money muling has been a long-established method for cybercriminals to support their illicit networks, enabling money laundering and evading Anti-Money Laundering (AML) measures. Each new or undetected mule account poses significant risks to financial institutions, making early detection and identification crucial. For effective risk management and protection, it is essential to have advanced fraud protection capabilities that identify suspicious account activity through both transactional and non-transactional indicators. This allows institutions to detect money mule networks at the preparation stage, ensuring that no threats slip through.
Unmask Hidden Mule Accounts Before They Strike
Mule accounts, the hidden intermediaries cybercriminals use to launder money and commit fraud, pose a persistent threat to financial institutions. Group-IB’s Fraud AI utilizes advanced user session telemetry monitoring and network analysis to expose these accounts, even during their setup and warm-up phases, protecting your institution from significant financial and reputational damage.
Mule accounts, the hidden intermediaries cybercriminals use to launder money and commit fraud, pose a persistent threat to financial institutions. Group-IB’s Fraud AI utilizes advanced user session telemetry monitoring and network analysis to expose these accounts, even during their setup and warm-up phases, protecting your institution from significant financial and reputational damage.
The “warm-up” phase is particularly challenging for money mule detection. Fraudsters meticulously build a seemingly legitimate transaction history for these accounts, often using genuine funds, to evade detection when they later activate the network for money laundering.
Group-IB Fraud Protection uses AI and machine learning to detect money mules even during their “warm-up” phase when they build legitimate transaction history to avoid detection. The solution analyzes technical and behavioral indicators like device usage, anonymization tools, and location data. It also uses relationship analysis to expose hidden connections between accounts.
Advanced Behavioral and Technical Analysis: Fraud Protection uses advanced algorithms to detect suspicious activity, including multiple accounts on the same device, network, and application anonymization tools, activity from restricted or high-risk locations, and non-unique installation dates.
Image 1: Mule account network visual investigation tool
Relationship Analysis: Using our Global ID technology, Fraud Protection goes beyond individual accounts, employing relationship analysis to uncover complex mule networks operating across multiple financial institutions and accounts. Global ID allows our clients to exchange information about recorded cases of suspicious activity across all protected applications. If attackers access different customer applications or platforms, Fraud Protection will record Global ID matches for all the devices and user accounts they use.
Proprietary Rules and Algorithms: Early Mule Detection utilizes a series of proprietary rules and algorithms, including advanced behavioral analysis, to accurately identify mule activity.
Key Benefits of Group-IB’s Early Mule Detection (EMD)
- Early Detection: Expose mule account networks during their setup and warm-up phases, even while they try to blend in with legitimate users.
- Proactive Protection: Stop fraud and money laundering attempts before they succeed.
- Reduced Losses: Minimize financial losses and reputational damage associated with mule account activity.
- Enhanced Investigations: Provide valuable data and insights to support law enforcement investigations and dismantle organized crime networks.
Don’t Let Mule Networks Exploit Your Institution
By identifying suspicious behavior and connections, Group-IB Fraud Protection allows you to proactively block or restrict accounts before they are used for money laundering. Protect your customers, assets, and reputation, and weed out any suspicious accounts or activities that could lead to disruption. Contact our experts today to learn how our early mule detection system can fortify your defenses against cybercrime’s ever-evolving threat.
Fraud Protection
Tailored specifically for industries, learn how Fraud Protection offers unbeaten detection and protection against modern attacks.
Additional resources:
