Palo Alto, CA — August 2, 2022 — Cell id pioneer Incognia at present introduced the publication of the outcomes of its first Location Spoofing Cell App research: Courting Version. The research was performed to check how inclined cell relationship apps are to location spoofing. The report studied 24 main relationship cell apps worldwide, together with: Tinder, Hinge, eHarmony, Match, OkCupid, Grindr, and extra.
Inside the USA, the Federal Commerce Fee has reported $549 million misplaced in romance scams inside 2021, which is up 80% from the prior 12 months. Utilizing faux personas and id fraud to “catfish” unsuspecting customers, fraudsters are concentrating on relationship apps for monetary acquire. The newest Incognia Location Spoofing Cell App research of relationship apps analyzes how relationship apps make use of consumer location to offer potential suitors and the way these apps are inclined to location spoofing. The dearth of location-spoofing detection capabilities is a matter as a result of it permits scammers to focus on customers in any location, placing 323 million customers worldwide in danger.
There are 5 major strategies fraudsters use to spoof location: VPNs and Proxy servers, GPS spoofing apps, emulators, instrumentation instruments, and app tampering. The Incognia Cell App research discovered that 80% of examined relationship apps request customers to share location, and 37% of the apps that requested location had been simply GPS spoofed. The research discovered that fifty% of relationship apps in North America and APAC may very well be spoofed utilizing GPS-spoofing apps. Notably, not one of the relationship apps examined from EMEA may very well be GPS spoofed.
“With 3 out of 10 U.S. adults utilizing a relationship app, making certain the protection and belief of customers is vital, given catfishing and fraud makes an attempt are on the rise,” stated André Ferraz, founder and CEO of Incognia. “Courting and social apps are susceptible to fraudsters faking their location to focus on a broader set of customers. These apps are uncovered to fraudsters’ location-spoofing makes an attempt that can lead to monetary theft and belief and issues of safety.”
To conduct this research, Incognia first downloaded every app on an Android gadget and created a brand new consumer account, then noticed if the app requested the consumer to share their location and likewise if the app displayed the consumer location. Subsequent, a GPS-spoofing app was used to spoof the consumer location and it was noticed if the app detected the spoofed location or actual consumer location. Extra subtle strategies corresponding to app tampering weren’t examined for this report.
Key knowledge factors from the report embody:
- 80% of the examined apps requested the consumer to share location. Not one of the apps offered messaging that the consumer location was getting used for fraud prevention.
- 37% of the apps that requested location may very well be simply GPS spoofed.
- 50% of the apps in North America and APAC may very well be GPS spoofed.
- Not one of the examined apps from EMEA may very well be GPS spoofed.
To learn the total report and evaluation, please obtain the Incognia Cell App Location Spoofing Report.
In assist of belief and security, Incognia is providing a complimentary location spoofing audit to any firm providing location-based providers through a cell app. Join a complimentary Location Spoofing Audit to get an evaluation of how a lot location spoofing is going on in your app.
About Incognia
Incognia is a privacy-first location id firm that gives frictionless cell id and authentication options for fraud prevention and belief and security. Deployed in over 200 million units, Incognia delivers a extremely exact danger sign with extraordinarily low false-positive charges to banks, fintech social, gaming, and mCommerce corporations, for decrease fraud losses, elevated cell income, and to assist belief and security for customers. Incognia’s award-winning expertise makes use of location alerts and movement sensors to silently acknowledge trusted customers primarily based on their distinctive habits patterns and is a key enabler for zero-factor authentication.
Incognia is privately held and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with groups in New York and Brazil.
