A new report from BioCatch, the leader in digital fraud detection and financial crime prevention powered by behavioural intelligence, reveals that criminals are targeting young people in the UK with nearly two-thirds (65%) of money mules in the UK being younger than 30.

The report follows new research from Cifas which found that more than one-fifth (22%) of adults in the UK thought that money muling was legal. The NCA estimates that over £10 billion annually is laundered via money mule activity in the UK and Cifas estimates 37,000 UK bank accounts exhibited mule-like behaviour in 2023. This is despite money laundering leading to up to 14 years in prison.

Youth unemployment in the UK (14.5%) is more than three times the national average (4.4%) and has risen from 12.4% in 2023. This financial instability leaves young individuals particularly vulnerable to exploitation.

The research also reveals globally there were nearly 2 million money mule accounts reported in 2024. These reports came from 257 financial institutions in 21 countries on five continents deploying the company’s anti-fraud, scams, and financial crime solutions.

BioCatch Director of Global Fraud Intelligence Tom Peacock commented: “Criminals are exploiting the financial vulnerabilities of young people in the UK. They’re taking advantage of high youth unemployment in the UK and a lack of awareness about the serious legal consequences of money muling, making this group particularly susceptible to exploitation.”

“The tip-of-the-iceberg metaphor is tired and overused, but the 2 million mule accounts our customers reported in 2024 likely represent only a fraction of the money laundering accounts either in use or lying dormant within the world's 44,000 financial institutions last year.”

The report, titled “Global money mule networks: Using behavioural and device intelligence to shine a light on money laundering,” provides an extensive look at how organised crime employs money mules to launder their illicit profits, diagramming how a variety of different types of mules operate as part of broader, often sprawling, money-washing networks.

“One of the major discoveries we uncovered while collaborating with financial institutions via our Mule Account Detection solution was how mule accounts connect fraud, financial crime, and money laundering,” BioCatch Senior Vice President of Emerging Solutions Kevin Donovan said. “While Europol links 90% of money mules to cybercrime, the rest of these accounts launder the proceeds of a litany of other offences. And they’re all part of the same criminal ecosystem. Scammers employ victims of human trafficking. Investment scam victims act as money mules.”