February 2025 Summaries

Glovo, a multinational food and retail delivery platform, faces significant challenges with fraud, including duplicate accounts created by existing users to exploit promotions and obscure refund histories. Operating in 23 countries, the company contends with varying fraud types such as policy abuse, credit card fraud, SMS pumping schemes, and account takeovers. To combat these issues, Glovo utilizes Fingerprint's device intelligence to enhance fraud detection and prevention, helping to identify past offenders and improve machine learning models. This technology aids in spotting patterns in network data, detecting bots, and recognizing trusted users, thereby streamlining the experience for legitimate customers while reducing costs associated with fraudulent activities. By leveraging Fingerprint's capabilities, Glovo addresses regional risks, data gaps, and evolving fraud tactics, improving customer acquisition strategies and maintaining accurate user data.

In January 2025, Brazil introduced new online gambling regulations aimed at combating fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, and harmful advertising, requiring betting companies to implement strict anti-fraud measures such as verifying users' physical locations and blocking those using VPNs or proxy servers. These regulations emerged due to concerns about the unregulated nature of the market since its legalization in 2018, which led to illegal activities and exploitative practices. The new compliance regime includes Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements, mandating identity verification through facial recognition and ID checks, along with real-time location verification every 30 minutes to ensure tax compliance and prevent unauthorized access. Companies must also detect and block jailbroken or rooted devices to curb fraud, with device intelligence platforms like Fingerprint offering tools for IP geolocation and VPN detection to comply with the new laws. Despite the complexity of these regulations, the Brazilian online betting market remains lucrative, with projections of reaching $34 billion by 2028, and companies that adopt robust anti-fraud systems will gain a competitive edge in this and other emerging markets.

Regional pricing involves setting different prices for goods or services based on the customer's location, taking into account factors like purchasing power and market demand, to balance affordability and profitability. This strategy is common in industries such as software, gaming, and e-commerce, and aims to increase accessibility, market share, revenue, and competitiveness. However, it is susceptible to fraud, where individuals use tools like VPNs, proxies, and falsified information to pretend to be in lower-priced regions. To combat this, businesses can employ advanced detection techniques, such as Fingerprint’s Smart Signals, which analyze various attributes to accurately identify user locations and enforce pricing strategies effectively. This involves examining signals like IP geolocation, VPN usage, and geolocation spoofing to mitigate fraud and ensure fair pricing.

In 2024, the crypto industry experienced significant developments, highlighted by the SEC's approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs, leading to a surge in trading volumes and interest in cryptocurrencies. However, this growth was accompanied by an increase in crypto-related scams and fraud, with Americans losing substantial amounts to various schemes such as investment fraud, romance scams, and account takeovers. Common fraud tactics included social engineering, identity theft, and the use of anonymizing tools to spoof locations. In response to these threats, advanced technologies like Fingerprint's device intelligence are being employed by crypto exchanges to bolster security and prevent fraudulent activities. These technologies provide solutions such as detecting location spoofing, multi-accounting fraud, and bot-driven attacks, aiming to protect user assets and maintain trust in the crypto ecosystem.

Fintech companies face significant challenges from fraud, which can result in substantial financial losses and hinder growth goals. Fraud not only leads to direct financial costs but also burdens companies with operational costs from dedicated fraud prevention teams, lost revenue from chargebacks, and opportunity costs as certain customer segments or innovations are avoided due to fraud fears. Fraud impacts are evident in new product signups where fraudsters exploit sign-up and referral bonuses, affecting marketing budgets. In loan origination, fraud can lead to substantial financial and reputational losses, with fraudsters using stolen or synthetic identities to obtain loans with no intention of repayment. Transaction thresholds are set to limit fraudulent activities but can inconvenience legitimate customers, potentially driving them to competitors. Fraud also stifles fintech innovation as resources are diverted to fraud prevention, often delaying or diluting new ideas. Device intelligence platforms like Fingerprint offer solutions by providing insights into customer devices, helping to identify fraudulent activities and streamline legitimate customer experiences, which can support fintech growth.