About Nick Imperillo | Senior Manager, Fraud and Risk
Spearheading fraud and risk strategies at GeoComply, Nick Imperillo helps organizations protect their businesses and users through advanced account security and the identification of abnormal behavioral patterns. He has dedicated his career to the dynamic challenge of architecting and scaling risk operations in highly regulated sectors, supporting major players like DraftKings. Nick merges his foundational expertise from security studies and research with extensive practical experience in implementing resilient anti-fraud frameworks.
Gone are the days when simply detecting IP spoofs and blocking VPN use was enough to tick the “fraud prevention” box. In today’s high-stakes iGaming arena, cybercriminals are deploying state-of-the-art tech and stolen identities to exploit operators through pervasive bonus abuse and fraudulent chargebacks—often to the tune of six to seven figures a month. These aggressive, sophisticated attacks demand equally forceful solutions. At the recent SBC Summit Americas, GeoComply’s Senior Manager of Fraud and Risk, Nick Imperillo, took center stage, delivering a critical intelligence briefing. Alongside industry peers, he exposed the rapidly evolving tactics of bad actors and outlined why today’s fraud prevention must be powered by unparalleled expertise and adaptive technology—hallmarks of GeoComply’s leadership.
Here are the pivotal insights from the session, “Decoding the Digital Deception: A Data-Driven Defense Against Evolving Fraud in Online Gaming,” showcasing GeoComply’s frontline perspective.
1. The new reality: fraud is sophisticated, structured, and scaling at pace
“The fraud we’re seeing today is nothing like it was five years ago,” Nick Imperillo stated, drawing from GeoComply’s vast data pool. “Organized crime groups are running fraud like a full-fledged business—with dedicated roles, extensive automation, and increasingly, ML-driven attack strategies.”
With global fraud losses projected to hit a staggering $10.5 trillion in 2025, the online gaming sector faces professional-grade attacks. GeoComply asserts that these demand an equally professional-grade, intelligence-led defense.
2. Geolocation intelligence: GeoComply’s frontline defense against evasion
Fraudsters relentlessly deploy VPNs, GPS spoofers, device emulators, and a myriad of masking tools. This is where GeoComply’s market-leading geolocation intelligence transforms from a compliance checkbox into a potent fraud detection weapon.
Nick elaborated on GeoComply’s unique capability: “We’re seeing specific, advanced spoofing methods intricately tied to payment fraud and money laundering schemes. By identifying those nuanced patterns in real-time—correlating data across devices, locations, and behaviors—GeoComply’s technology empowers operators to neutralize abuse before it even starts.” It’s clear: sophisticated geolocation, as delivered by GeoComply, is now fundamental to unmasking fraud rings, identifying repeat abusers, and detecting suspicious behavioral clusters that traditional KYC methods invariably miss.
3. The unassailable truth: behavioral data can’t be bought on the dark web
The panel underscored a critical vulnerability of fraudsters: while stolen identities and synthetic profiles are alarmingly easy to acquire, genuine behavioral and environmental signals—like how a user uniquely interacts with their device or navigates a site—cannot be convincingly faked at scale. This is a cornerstone of GeoComply’s advanced fraud detection philosophy.
GeoComply’s comprehensive fraud stack masterfully blends deep behavioral analytics, precise device fingerprinting, and real-time location intelligence. This integrated approach identifies the subtle, yet revealing, patterns that expose fraud before it escalates. As Nick affirmed, “These are signals you can’t fabricate or buy. That’s what makes them so incredibly powerful in today’s dynamic threat landscape, and it’s what our systems are built to detect.”
4. Leading the paradigm shift: from ambiguous risk scores to actionable confidence scores
GeoComply is actively challenging the industry’s over-reliance on generic “risk scores,” championing a move towards intelligent, confidence-based models that accurately reflect real-world behavior and intent.
“Traditional risk scores often overstate perceived damage to a business, creating friction and frustrating good users,” Nick explained. “At GeoComply, we focus on probability—how certain are we that this individual is legitimate, based on the holistic intelligence picture our platform provides” This pioneering approach enables operators to drastically reduce false positives, minimize unnecessary user friction, take more control of their data and scale smarter, more precise decisions without overburdening their operational teams.
5. The dynamic battlefield: GeoComply tracks fraud’s ever-changing face
Drawing from its unparalleled view of global gaming traffic, GeoComply revealed that fraud is a diverse and continuously evolving challenge. Trends vary significantly by geography, product vertical, and even by the season. From sophisticated, organized rings in the US to acute fraud spikes linked to new product launches and promotional periods, real-time, adaptive visibility is non-negotiable.
Nick warned, “The bad actors are adapting at lightning speed. If your fraud tools are static, siloed, or lack true intelligence, you’re already several steps behind.” This is why GeoComply’s systems are designed for continuous learning and adaptation.
6. Scaling defenses through intelligence: GeoComply’s automation advantage
Operators cannot simply scale human teams to match the escalating volume of threats. The solution? Scale intelligence and automate response. GeoComply delivers precisely this, providing clean, correlated, and actionable data that empowers partners to automate defensive actions, intelligently prioritize true risks, and focus human expertise where it delivers maximum impact.
“We’re fundamentally helping our partners answer critical questions,” Nick stated. “What threats are truly real? Which battles are worth fighting? And crucially, how do we scale effective decisions without exponentially scaling headcount? GeoComply provides those answers.”
7. GeoComply: the strategic force multiplier for fraud and compliance teams
Beyond technology, GeoComply serves as a crucial enabler. By providing irrefutable evidence, to empowering operator teams with tools at their fingertips to fight fraud in real time, GeoComply plays a vital role in transforming fragmented signals into coherent, actionable narratives.
As Nick Imperillo articulated, “We don’t just detect spoofing or flag location anomalies—GeoComply helps tell the comprehensive story behind them. That’s the intelligence that empowers our partners to act decisively, engage regulators with confidence, and rigorously protect their brand and bottom line.”
Final takeaway: proactive defense with GeoComply
The cost of fraud extends far beyond mere financial losses. It drains valuable team resources, erodes hard-won customer trust, and stifles business growth. Today’s fraudsters aren’t just dabbling; they’re deploying tech stacks as advanced as yours, and geolocation isn’t just about compliance anymore—it’s about survival and protecting your bottom line.
GeoComply offers unmatched real-time protection that goes far beyond ticking a compliance box. With geolocation insights tracing back to market inception and processing more than 2 billion checks per month, our unparalleled data advantage directly powers our sophisticated machine learning models and adaptive intelligence. This is how GeoComply’s Risk Research and Data Science teams effectively identify and immobilize fraudsters masquerading as “real” players—shutting them down before they can get away with stolen funds and impact your revenue.
With GeoComply’s adaptive intelligence, unmatched real-time data streams, and machine learning-backed insights, operators can decisively shift from a reactive posture to a proactive, predictive fraud defense—all while delivering a safer, smoother, and more trusted experience for legitimate players.
See what truly advanced fraud prevention looks like. Book a demo to explore our suite of solutions—engineered to protect your platform before fraud impacts your bottom line.
