The State of Mule Account Handovers in 2026

81% of fraud prevention, risk, and compliance professionals report an increase in mule-related activity over the past year.

More than 80% of fraud prevention, risk, and compliance professionals report that mule activity is detected reactively rather than prevented before suspicious transactions occur.

78% of financial institutions make improving mule account detection a high or top priority over the next 12 months.

Over 50% of fraud prevention, risk, and compliance professionals say account handover fraud, where control of a verified account shifts to someone else without authorization, is more difficult to detect than other types of fraud.