Fraud has escalated into a major threat within the fintech sector. In 2024, global financial crime losses—including scams, cyberattacks, and identity fraud—are estimated to have reached $485.6 billion, according to Nasdaq’s Global Financial Crime Report. This surge is largely fueled by the rise of AI-driven schemes such as synthetic identity fraud and deepfake scams.
Alarmingly, deepfake-related fraud is projected to cost businesses $40 billion annually by 2027, up from $12.3 billion in 2023. At this scale, a single breach can destabilize a fintech startup overnight—crippling operations, damaging reputation, and eroding customer trust.
To navigate this increasingly hostile digital environment, Fintech startups must prioritize fraud prevention from day one. This means implementing secure cloud infrastructures, integrating AI-powered fraud detection systems, and using real-time behavioral analytics to monitor for suspicious activity. Investing in these tools early not only protects against evolving threats but also builds user confidence and meets regulatory expectations. As fraud tactics grow more complex, only those fintechs that embed security deeply into their operations will be positioned for long-term growth and resilience.
The Critical Need for Fraud Prevention
In 2024, financial crime has grown into a trillion-dollar crisis.
The Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) reports that over $1.03 trillion has been lost to scams globally in just the past year—highlighting the scale and urgency of the problem.
Fraudulent schemes now include everything from synthetic identity fraud to increasingly sophisticated phishing and deepfake attacks, targeting businesses and consumers alike.
As the co-Founder and CTO of a Fintech company, I see fraud prevention not as an operational add-on, but as a core component of responsible innovation. In today’s environment, it’s essential to treat security as a strategic advantage. That means adopting AI-driven threat detection, real-time transaction monitoring, and predictive analytics to detect anomalies before they turn into breaches. These tools aren’t just about protection—they’re about earning and preserving the trust of users who rely on us for secure, reliable financial services.
Fintech companies must be relentless in staying ahead of emerging threats. Security is no longer a checklist item—it’s a continuous process that defines long-term survival and success.
The High Cost of Ignoring Fraud
Digital fraud poses a critical challenge for Fintech businesses, impacting their core operations and long-term success:
- Retention and User Trust: Customers expect fast, seamless transactions, but even a single security breach can erode trust and drive them to competitors. Robust, proactive fraud prevention fosters customer confidence and loyalty.
- Financial Impact: Fraud is costly. Chargebacks, stolen funds, and regulatory penalties can quickly drain capital, threatening a startup’s financial stability. Early investment in fraud prevention is a critical safeguard for long-term growth.
- Evolving Threat Landscape: As fraud tactics evolve, so must defense strategies. From synthetic identity fraud to deepfake scams, fintech companies need cutting-edge tools like AI-driven detection, behavioral analytics, and real-time transaction monitoring to stay ahead.
The Future of Fintech Security: Embracing AI, Biometrics, and Beyond
To counter the surge in digital fraud, fintech startups must adopt advanced security technologies. AI and machine learning provide adaptive fraud detection, staying ahead of evolving threats, while biometric authentication adds an essential layer of defense against identity theft.
As someone deeply involved in building secure systems, I can say this with confidence: our platform runs on secure, cloud-based infrastructure designed for multi-layered defense and full traceability of every action and change. Traditional fraud detection often falls short—struggling with scalability, real-time accuracy, and speed. That’s why we’ve embedded AI-driven fraud detection, real-time transaction monitoring, and predictive analytics into the core of our system.
When something suspicious occurs, our Information Security team is immediately alerted and ready to act. The goal isn’t just to catch fraud after the fact—it’s to stay ahead of it entirely.
AI-Powered Fraud Detection
AI delivers rapid fraud detection by analyzing millions of transactions per second. Machine learning establishes behavioral baselines, flagging deviations like unusual spending or suspicious logins. Predictive analytics prioritizes high-risk activities for immediate review.
Biometric Authentication
The method relies on facial recognition, fingerprint scanning, and voice verification. It creates an extra access control layer and reduces reliance on passwords and 2FA. While serving as an extra cautious measure, it also streamlines user authentication.
Behavioral Analytics
Understanding customers’ behavior is essential in applying proactive measures without disrupting legitimate activity. Such analytics focus on typing speed, transaction patterns, and device fingerprints to detect anomalies. It adapts to user behavior, refines detection accuracy, and improves real-time threat response.
Advanced Encryption
Advanced encryption secures financial data using keyless encryption and hashing. It ensures confidentiality, integrity, and protection against unauthorized access, reducing the risk of breaches and fraud.
Strengthening Fintech Security
In cybersecurity, complacency is a risk. Fraud is a moving target, especially in Fintech, where the demand for speed and convenience creates new vulnerabilities. To stay secure, defenses must be as dynamic and adaptive as the ever-changing threats they guard against.
For me, security is a continuous process. We learn from every incident, every audit, and every risk assessment to strengthen our systems. I believe in investing heavily in R&D, working closely with security experts, and integrating AI, machine learning, and advanced threat detection tools into our architecture. The goal is always the same: stay ahead of the curve, not scramble to catch up.
Fraud prevention also isn’t something we can solve alone. It takes real collaboration. I strongly believe Fintechs need to partner with regulators, cybersecurity firms, and global fraud intelligence networks to share threat intelligence, stay on top of new attack vectors, and build stronger, collective defenses.
Cloud security is a top priority. We only work with EU-based cloud providers that meet the highest security standards, and we host our infrastructure on Google Cloud Platform (GCP). We follow the shared responsibility model, clearly defining where our security responsibilities begin and end—and we take them seriously. On top of that, we continuously monitor our environments using both automated threat detection and manual security reviews to ensure our data and applications remain safe.
The Human Factor in Fraud Prevention
While technologies like AI, biometrics, and blockchain significantly enhance fraud prevention, I’ve learned that human error remains one of the biggest vulnerabilities in Fintech. Weak passwords, phishing attempts, and social engineering attacks can still circumvent even the most advanced technical defenses.
That’s why I believe strong cyber hygiene is non-negotiable—especially for startups. We run regular security training sessions, enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA), and conduct phishing simulations to reduce the risk of human-related breaches. It’s about building a culture of security awareness from the ground up.
To stay compliant and secure, we conduct regular security audits. As a regulated institution, we adhere to BaFin standards, undergo annual audits, and collaborate with independent security experts for external assessments and penetration testing. These steps help us stay ahead of threats, close vulnerabilities, and ultimately protect the trust our customers place in us.
For me, fraud prevention isn’t just a feature—it’s about survival. AI, biometrics, and blockchain are powerful tools, but they’re only effective when embedded into every layer of the organization. Security must be a core principle, not an afterthought. That’s how we build trust, enable growth, and create long-term success in Fintech.
Nikolay Mironenko is a co-founder of Moss and a former engineer at Wise, where he worked on launching the US card program, integrating banking systems, and building scalable financial infrastructure. At Moss, he applied this expertise to create a financial platform that now serves thousands of companies. His experience combines technical leadership, team building, and scaling management in fast-growing environments.