Fraud On The Go

Promo abuse is silently siphoning millions from gig economy platforms—hurting margins, growth metrics, and customer acquisition efforts.This episode is a discussion between Sudhir Lanka (Grubhub), Danielle Miguez (Zé Delivery), and Jeniffer Rosa (Incognia) about how promo fraud happens, what to watch for, and how to stop it without killing your growth engine.Discussion topics include:How promo abuse really works—from fake restaurants to fake accounts and device farmsHow to recognize the early warning signs of abuse and uncover vulnerabilitiesHow to distinguish between clever users and real fraudProven strategies for cracking down on abuse without killing growthHow fraud teams can partner with marketing to stop abuse and support sustainable growthKey takeaways:Promo abuse is silent but costly. It often goes undetected because it mimics normal user behavior—until fraud teams spot patterns like dozens or hundreds of accounts linked to a single device.Fraudsters are scaling. Professional fraud rings can use app cloners, emulators, synthetic identities, and GenAI to create and manage massive networks of fake accounts.Not all abuse is equal. There’s a spectrum—from opportunistic users exploiting a discount once or twice to organized fraudsters profiting at scale. Intent, deception, and scale help define the difference.Strong prevention signals and cross-team alignment are key. Device and location intelligence and tight coordination between fraud and marketing teams are essential to stop abuse without killing growth.Show notes:Promo Abuse: The Silent Fraud Hiding Behind Your Best Campaigns: https://www.incognia.com/blog/promo-abuse-the-silent-fraud-hiding-behind-your-best-campaigns The Frontline Report Gig Economy Edition: https://www.incognia.com/frontline-report-gig-economy-edition#promotion-abuse Connect with Danielle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-miguez-517631129/ Connect with Sudhir: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sudhirlanka/ Connect with Jeniffer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeniffer-rosa-de-paula/

What happens when a gig economy platform replaces gut instinct with data-driven trust scores?In this episode, we sit down with Kunal Kumar, Principal Product Manager at Rebel Foods—a global cloud kitchen company in the food delivery industry—who led the design and rollout of trust scores for both customers and delivery riders. He shares how Rebel built their models, what signals matter most, and the lessons learned while balancing fraud prevention with customer experience.Key discussion topics include:Why Rebel Foods decided to create trust scores in the first placeHow trust scores balance fraud detection with fairnessSegmenting users into tiers and tailoring treatment flowsCross-team alignment and the implementation processUsing metrics to monitor effectivenessPitfalls to avoid when designing scoring modelsKey takeaways:Data over instinct. Trust scores remove bias and subjectivity from fraud decisions, replacing gut calls with a consistent, data-driven framework.Segmentation & treatment. Customers and riders are divided into tiers, with high scorers getting perks like fast refunds and low scorers facing stricter checks.Impact without compromise. Rebel Foods reduced retention spend and doubled refund automation after launching trust scores—while keeping customer satisfaction steady.Built for trust. Trust scores were built to reward genuine behavior, with every user starting with a high score and only dropping if risky patterns appear.Location is critical. GPS fidelity is a critical rider signal that's used to improve customer ETAs, ensure fair pay for riders, and catch compensation abuse.Show notes:See Incognia's other resources: https://www.incognia.com/resources Connect with Kunal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kunal-kumar-26aa27a3/ Connect with David: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-nesbitt/

Cash on delivery (COD) is still the dominant payment method in many emerging markets—but with it comes operational complexity and high fraud risk. In this episode, we chat with Faisal Ahmad Jafri, who’s held roles at Glovo and foodpanda and led marketplace ops teams across Africa and Asia. He breaks down the challenges of courier collusion, proof of delivery loopholes, and the trade-offs between fraud prevention and platform growth.Key discussion topics include:What's unique about courier fraud in cash-on-delivery marketsWhy cash-on-delivery transactions open the door to collusionThe importance of collaboration across fraud, ops, and support teamsSignals and behaviors that reveal courier fraudField-tested interventions that worked (and those that didn’t)How to adapt fraud defenses when expanding into cash-heavy marketsEmerging fraud models with QR codes and mobile walletsShow notes:See Incognia's other resources: https://www.incognia.com/resourcesConnect with Faisal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/faisalahmadj/Connect with David: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-nesbitt/