{"id":104282,"date":"2023-03-09T15:15:13","date_gmt":"2023-03-09T15:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feedzai.com\/?p=104282"},"modified":"2024-04-09T09:13:37","modified_gmt":"2024-04-09T09:13:37","slug":"behavioral-biometrics-for-money-mule-account-detection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feedzai.com\/blog\/behavioral-biometrics-for-money-mule-account-detection\/","title":{"rendered":"Behavioral Biometrics for Money Mule Account Detection"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”2″ top_padding=”1″ bottom_padding=”2″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ column_width_percent=”100″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″][vc_column width=”1\/1″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/12″][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”10\/12″][vc_single_image media=”104287″ media_width_percent=”100″ uncode_shortcode_id=”820489″][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/12″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner column_width_percent=”100″ gutter_size=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_width=”0″ mobile_visibility=”yes” mobile_width=”0″ width=”2\/12″][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”8\/12″][vc_custom_heading heading_semantic=”h3″ text_size=”h3″ text_weight=”400″ uncode_shortcode_id=”813059″]Criminals make their money from a variety of illicit activities. This includes, but is not limited to, drug sales, illegal weapons, slavery, and more.<\/span> These underworld activities can yield significantly high profits for criminals – but only if they are able to move the money into legitimate financial systems. <\/span>This is why many criminals turn to money mules to launder their funds into banks. And why banks need behavioral biometrics for mule account detection.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What are Money Mules?<\/span><\/h3>\n

Money mules<\/span><\/a> act as middlemen for criminal organizations by providing bad actors with a pathway into legitimate financial services. They come in <\/span>three distinct categories<\/span><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n

The first type of money mule is an unwitting participant in a criminal scheme. This may include someone looking for work opportunities who is manipulated into letting criminals access their bank account. The second is a willing participant – someone who understands they are helping a criminal enterprise but are undeterred because they believe they will profit from their efforts. The third type of mule is someone directly connected to the criminal organization. They will open a bank account (most likely with a synthetic ID) for the purpose of laundering illicit money.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Money mule scammers often recruit people by posting fake job listings or promising easy money for little effort. If they agree to participate, the criminal instructs them to move money on behalf of their \u201cemployer\u201d – which can include cash, cryptocurrency, gift cards, direct deposits, or receiving physical goods at their address. <\/span>Criminals promise compensation to participants who have become money mules. [\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=”120493″ media_width_percent=”100″ uncode_shortcode_id=”151717″ el_class=”hide-in-mobile”][vc_single_image media=”120497″ media_width_percent=”100″ uncode_shortcode_id=”116376″ el_class=”hide-in-desktop-tablet”][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”163651″]The global COVID-19 pandemic drove millions of people living in the APAC region into poverty, according to a recent <\/span>report<\/span><\/a> by Asia Development Bank. This gave criminals a golden opportunity to recruit more people to act as money mules. <\/span>Young people<\/span><\/a> in their teens and 20s are particularly susceptible to money mule recruitment tactics.<\/span><\/p>\n

How Serious a Problem are Money Mules in APAC?<\/span><\/h3>\n

If criminals are successful, the penalties for APAC banks can be severe. Recent data shows the collective fines paid by APAC banks surpassed $10.6 billion USD for <\/span>non-compliance<\/span><\/a> with anti-money laundering (AML) requirements.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Criminals turn to money mules to launder their money because they believe banks will view them as trustworthy parties. But recent advances in technology – including behavioral biometrics – are enabling banks to track criminals and detect money mule accounts linked to money laundering, enabling banks to detect such activity earlier and respond faster.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Behavioral Biometrics?<\/span>\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

At the most basic level, the key to fighting money laundering is understanding what\u2019s happening behind the scenes. Behavioral biometrics can help banks understand how their customers normally behave and can flag behaviors that are red flags for money mules.<\/span><\/p>\n

Behavioral biometrics solutions have already proven effective at stopping <\/span>account takeover (ATO) fraud attacks<\/span><\/a>. In an ATO attack, an impersonator hijacks someone else\u2019s profile and misuses it to buy goods using the victim\u2019s payment information or transfer money out of their account. <\/span>Behavioral biometrics<\/span><\/a> enable banks to understand whether a customer really is who they claim to be and stop fraudsters before they can reach the point of transaction.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how it works: behavioral biometrics technology analyzes how humans typically interact with their devices and accounts, such as what time they login, the way they touch their device screen, or move their mouse. By implementing behavioral biometrics, your fraud teams can analyze hundreds of parameters that make up someone\u2019s online behavior to assess whether the person behind the screen is a legitimate customer or someone impersonating them.<\/span><\/p>\n

The way your customers click on their phone screen and press buttons is biometric data that makes up a profile of who they are. It becomes their digital identity that cannot be replicated. This digital identity becomes their unique barcode and financial institutions can use it to identify good customer interactions and distinguish them from possible criminal activity.<\/span><\/p>\n

In other words, behavioral biometrics offers FIs an entire suite of frictionless security controls. These controls both quicken and enhance the fraud detection process for greater accuracy. What\u2019s more, applications of behavioral biometrics extend beyond fraud prevention. It also opens new possibilities for your bank to identify money mules who are attempting to launder money through your organization.<\/span><\/p>\n

How Can Behavioral Biometrics Detect Money Mule Accounts?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Behavioral biometrics offers four distinct benefits:<\/span><\/p>\n