Incognia raises $15.5m Series A to combat increased identity fraud

By Edlyn Cardoza

Mobile identity pioneer Incognia today announced it raised $15.5 million in Series A funding led by Point72 Ventures. Within 18 months of launching in the U.S., Incognia is now protecting more than 200 million mobile users in more than 20 countries, and the new funding round will support Incognia’s continued growth. Incognia addresses the balancing act between friction and security for user authentication and fraud prevention on mobile applications across industries, including FinTech, crypto, gaming, delivery and social.

In 2021, identity fraud losses totalled $52 billion and affected 45 million U.S. adults, according to Javelin Strategy and Research. With new account fraud increasing 109% and account takeover losses rising 90%, today’s authentication, device fingerprinting, and fraud detection solutions fail to protect mobile users and introduce friction to the user experience. Even with multi-factor authentication (MFA), users are highly vulnerable to social engineering, which is now responsible for more than 80% of the fraud losses in the U.S.

Incognia offers a new approach to mobile app security that requires no action by the user. Instead, Incognia uses location signals and motion sensors on the device to create a privacy-first location identity unique to each user, like a location fingerprint, that delivers a highly effective solution for differentiating trusted users from fraudsters.

“Identity assurance on mobile is of the utmost importance in protecting user accounts against increasing fraud. As mobile apps take over the world, reducing fraud and improving customer authentication experiences should be the top priority for all major fintech companies and any mobile-first businesses that deal with money,” said Adam Carson, Partner at Point72 Ventures. “We believe Incognia is at the forefront of mobile identity and authentication, and any mobile app that touches money has the potential to benefit from their solutions.”

Incognia works silently in the background on mobile devices using anonymised location behaviour to create a new form of digital identity that provides a frictionless UX with maximum security to address the growing volume of social engineering fraud attacks. In addition to CEO and founder André Ferraz, Incognia leadership includes Paula Skokowski, CMO, as well as John Lindner, CRO, who together bring over 20 years of security, authentication, and fraud prevention experience.

“Today’s authentication and fraud detection solutions aren’t working for the user, or for businesses, and the market is looking for more innovative technologies. Incognia is pushing the frontier of identity assurance and authentication to deliver increased security with minimal user friction,” said André Ferraz, founder and CEO of Incognia. “We’re emerging as the global location identity leader, effectively combating the increasing fraud on mobile around the world. We’re dedicated to enabling our customers to deliver frictionless mobile experiences without compromising security and privacy.”