Episode Details

This episode covers a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) review of UK payment service providers' efforts to combat money mule activity. The review assessed firms' use of the National Fraud Database (NFD) and money mule detection tools, revealing significant shortcomings in reporting, real-time checks, and internal fraud detection. The FCA highlighted insufficient onboarding checks, inadequate transaction monitoring, and delayed responses to alerts. Furthermore, the review underscored the need for improved data sharing, staff training, and consumer awareness campaigns to effectively tackle money mule networks and protect consumers. The rising number of money mules and the severity of the problem are emphasised throughout.