Incognia's Gig Economy Fraud Report Shows Refund Abuse Representing 48% of Consumer Fraud in 2024
Innovator of next-generation identity solutions works with over half of the largest gig economy companies worldwide and shares fraud insights.
Subscribe to the Incognia Newsletter
SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Today, Incognia, the innovator of next-generation identity solutions, is releasing the Gig Economy Edition of its annual Frontline Report. This edition ranks the top fraud challenges faced by global food delivery and ride-hailing companies in 2024. The findings show that fake accounts were used in 57% of driver-side fraud, while refund and promotion abuse were tied as the top consumer-side fraud type, each representing 48% of total high risk assessments returned by Incognia.
Incognia works with just over half of the largest food delivery and ride-hailing companies globally. These companies together represent 20% of all food delivery and ride-hailing users worldwide. As the only fraud prevention company offering tailored solutions to the gig economy, Incognia is helping them mitigate complex fraud challenges like fake account creation, account sharing, refund and promotion abuse.
In one scenario analyzed by Incognia, a fraudster created 800 fake accounts to exploit new user coupons and was able to steal 1.5% of the total redeemed coupon value that month. Another case showed how a bad actor was able to access 400 different accounts on a single device in order to consume thousands of dollars worth of promotions in just 30 days.
Similarly, refund abuse—which accounted for 48% of the consumer-side fraud detected by Incognia—was also reported to impact nearly 50% of merchants worldwide, according to the MRC 2024 Global eCommerce Report. In one case, Incognia identified a single Samsung device that accessed over 200 accounts to fraudulently return more than $5,000 worth of stolen merchandise. The fraudster then likely resold the items to double their profits.
"Fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated, relentlessly targeting gig economy platforms with advanced fraud techniques that erode user trust and degrade the overall experience," said André Ferraz, co-founder and CEO of Incognia. "This report exposes the broader fraud landscape affecting gig platforms. With the right solution—like Incognia—these companies can detect and prevent suspicious behavior seamlessly, without adding friction for legitimate users. The results speak for themselves—gig economy companies are achieving returns of 7 to 12x when using Incognia for fraud prevention."
To see the full report, click here.
About Incognia
Incognia is the innovator of next-generation identity solutions that enable secure and seamless digital experiences. With its persistent device fingerprint solution, Incognia combines best-in-class device recognition signals, location analysis, and tamper detection features for frictionless user verification and fraud prevention. Incognia's customizable risk assessment and actionable insights empower companies in food delivery, ride-hailing, marketplace, and financial services to protect their reputation, retention, and revenue.
Media Contact
Kerriann Becker, 983 Group, 631-235-7796, incognia@983group.com
