A cybersecurity startup founded by former Google engineer Joe Tallett that claims to be able to stop scams before they happen, has emerged from stealth with a £350,000 investment.
AVIEL Intelligence, which also includes executive alums from what3words, provides banks and payment firms with an intelligence engine that it claims can identify scam networks and provide actionable insights.
The startup has built AI personas that interact with scammers through various digital platforms, extracting information from bad actors and giving greater understanding of how they operate to financial institutions.
The funding, from Paddle investor Fuel Ventures, will support the startup’s go-to-market expansion across the UK and overseas.
“AVIEL is tackling one of the biggest challenges facing banks and payment service providers today,” said Fuel Ventures founder Mark Pearson.
“The team has found a completely unique angle – using intelligence, not just analytics, to stop scams at the source. Their approach is bold, focused and scalable, and we’re excited to back them at this critical stage.”
Fraud has been identified as a critical concern in the UK, representing 40% of all reported crimes in 2023 according to figures published by UK Finance.
A survey published recently by Veriff found that almost three-quarters (73%) of UK businesses saw an increase in online fraud over the past 12 months.
Separate research from released by fintech unicorn Wise in April found that as many as two-thirds of UK adults have fallen victim to scams.
The majority of scams originate from social media and communication platforms, with Meta services Facebook and WhatsApp among the most common.
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