Home Startup 10 fraud-prevention startups taking on scammers before they strike

10 fraud-prevention startups taking on scammers before they strike

by Deidre Salcido
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Fraud prevention is becoming an increasingly important part of Europe’s cybersecurity and FinTech landscape, as organisations face growing threats from scams, identity theft, account takeovers and AI-enabled financial crime.

As attacks become more sophisticated, startups across the continent are developing AI-driven tools to identify suspicious behaviour faster, strengthen digital identity checks, and reduce the risk of financial losses. The need for this is particularly clear during peak travel periods: according to Stoïk, seven out of ten companies face cybersecurity threats during the summer, with the tourism sector accounting for 70% of these incidents. This serves as a reminder of how alert businesses need to be, especially in industries handling large volumes of customer data and online transactions.

In EU-Startups’ 2026 coverage, cybersecurity-led fraud detection appears especially focused on human-targeted attacks, including impersonation or credential theft. The clearest examples are Spain’s Zepo Intelligence and France’s MokN, which together raised approximately €25.7 million in 2026. Their funding suggests that investor attention in this part of the cybersecurity market is moving towards tools that help organisations detect and prevent fraud at an earlier stage, before attackers can access accounts, move money or steal sensitive data.

With that in mind, we highlight 10 promising European startups developing technologies to help organisations identify, prevent and respond to fraud.

Madrid-based Acoru, has created a system to prevent banks and financial companies spot fraud before money is moved. Its AI platform analyses account behaviour, login activity, transaction patterns and other risk signals to detect suspicious activity linked to scams, fake accounts, money mules and financial crime.

Its system classifies accounts by risk level so banks can decide whether to block, review or monitor activity before a transaction goes through. It also lets organisations share fraud signals with each other while keeping sensitive customer data private. Founded in 2023, Acoru raised €14 million in total funding.

AVIEL

Launched in 2024, AVIEL Intelligence helps financial institutions prevent customers from making payments to scammers. It monitors and analyses digital interactions to identify signs of financial grooming, scam activity and risky payment behaviour before fraudulent transactions are completed.

AVIEL works with banks, payment providers, regulators and other organisations looking to strengthen digital security, offering its technology through a subscription-based model and partnerships. Based in London, the startup secured €695k in funding.

FALKIN

FALKIN, based in London and founded in 2024, builds AI-driven tools that help banks protect customers from scams before payments happen. Its technology analyses behavioural and digital risk signals to detect signs of deception early and can be embedded into banking apps, customer-service portals and other trusted digital channels.

The platform enables financial institutions to intervene earlier when a customer shows signs of scam risk. FALKIN has raised €1.7 million in total funding.

Mokn

Paris-based MokN, is a cybersecurity startup that protects organisations against credential theft. Its platform uses realistic decoy access points, such as fake VPN or webmail portals, to trick attackers into entering stolen credentials before they can be used or exposed on the dark web. This gives security teams an earlier way to detect and respond to phishing attacks.

MokN works with large companies and mid-sized organisations, and according to them, it protects more than 1 million users. Launched in 2024, their total funding is €15.5 million.

Prelude

Headquartered in Paris, Prelude is a telecom data, device intelligence, network signals and behavioural patterns to assess whether a user is legitimate across onboarding and later interactions.

Prelude’s tools include APIs for phone verification, real-time carrier intelligence and continuous trust checks, designed to support user verification while reducing SMS fraud and fake-user activity. Launched in 2023, Prelude has raised €24.3 million in total funding.

 PryvX

We are especially happy to include PryvX in this list, which won the EU-Startups Summit Pitch Competition in 2025. The Stockholm-based startup develops a privacy-focused data collaboration platform that enables organisations in telecom, finance and insurance to work together on fraud detection and cybersecurity without exposing sensitive information. Its technology helps identify risks, including telecom fraud, banking fraud, identity theft, IoT security threats and other forms of cybercrime.

The platform creates secure data clean rooms, where organisations can share insights while keeping control of confidential data. PryvX uses privacy-enhancing technologies such as federated learning, homomorphic encryption, differential privacy, secure multi-party computation and zero-knowledge proofs. Since its launch in 2024, they secured €144k in funding.

Qevlar_AI

Qevlar AI was founded in 2023 to create an agentic AI platform for security operations centres. Its platform reviews security alerts, gathers the relevant information and checks whether the activity is harmless or a real threat. This helps security teams avoid spending too much time on false alarms.

The tool is used by large companies and managed security providers to speed up investigations and decide what action to take. Headquartered in Paris, Qevlar AI raised €38.9 million in funding.

SYBOL

Madrid-based Sybol founded in 2025, develops corporate digital identity infrastructure and verifiable credentials for companies. Its platform allows organisations to issue, share and verify digital certificates linked to their identity, helping replace manual documents with secure digital evidence.

By issuing and verifying trusted digital credentials for companies, suppliers, employees and clients, Sybol aims to reduce the risk of fake documents, false business identities, supplier impersonation and unauthorised access. The startup has raised €414k in funding.

Tunic_Pay

Tunic Pay is based in London, and they provide real-time payment intelligence to help banks and payment providers spot scams before money is sent. Its platform gives teams more context on each transaction, helping them verify payments, flag scam risk early and clear genuine payments faster.

They combine data, customer journeys and AI-driven decisioning across the payment process, from pre-payment checks to fraud investigations. It also uses shared, anonymised intelligence across institutions to identify emerging scam patterns in real time. Launched in 2023, Tunic Pay has raised €4.3 million in total funding.

Zynap

Barcelona-based Zynap is developing a cybersecurity software that uses generative AI to help companies detect and understand cyber threats earlier. Its platform simulates cybercriminal tactics and turns threat intelligence into practical insights, helping security teams see how attackers may behave and where risks could appear.

Zynap is built for large companies and managed security service providers that need faster, more scalable ways to defend against cyberattacks. Its tools are designed to integrate with existing security systems and support more informed decisions before threats cause damage. Founded in 2024, they raised €11.7 million in funding.

By the way: If you’re a corporate or investor looking for exciting startups in a specific market for a potential investment or acquisition, check out our Startup Sourcing Service!

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