Cifas triumphs at the Innovation Partnership hackathon

An innovative team representing Cifas, the UK’s leading fraud prevention service, has won the inaugural Innovation Partnership’s ‘Innovation Challenge Hackathon’, taking home the coveted gold-plated trophy. 

After months of dedicated work, the team impressed judges with their groundbreaking ‘Events Database’ concept. This strategic initiative aims to collect and analyse fraud-risk data on events such as chargebacks, goods lost in transit and refund abuse. While these occurrences may seem innocuous in isolation, their aggregation across organisations can reveal patterns indicative of fraudulent activity.  

Beyond developing the idea, the group also identified potential development partners and customers, underscoring the real-world applicability.  

Cifas’ winning team comprised of Gaby Devereux, Sophie Lennox, Dan Beckett, Daniel Murphy, and Toby Lovatt. They were recognised by the judging panel for best exemplifying the innovation process, outperforming strong competition from Anglian Water and Turn2Us. 

The Innovation Challenge Hackathon brings together cross-functional teams to address real-world business challenges, while fostering professional and personal development. Participants benefit from comprehensive training in vital skills such as creative and critical thinking and collaboration. 

The programme culminated in a high-stakes final presentation and awards ceremony in London, where teams pitched their ideas, proofs-of-concept, or working prototypes for recognition and the chance to claim the Innovation Challenge Hackathon award. 

Mark Courtney, Chief Product Officer at Cifas, expressed his pride in the achievement, commenting: ‘This is a great win for Cifas and is testament to the ingenuity, dedication, and collaborative spirit of our team. 

‘Innovation is at the heart of what we do, and this success highlights our commitment to staying ahead of fraud by looking at new ways to tackle it. The award reinforces Cifas’ position as a leader in fraud prevention and innovation, paving the way for future advancements in data and intelligence sharing.’ 

Corina Balaneanu, Founder of the Innovation Partnership, added: ‘The Innovation Challenge Hackathon is a truly exceptional programme, showcasing groundbreaking ideas and remarkable talent. The quality of entries on display made judging incredibly tough. Congratulations to the Cifas team for its outstanding achievement.’ 

The judging panel comprised of Susan Hooper, Non-Executive Director at Uber UK and Moonpig Plc and Network Chair at Innovation Partnership, Christopher Kenna, CEO at BA Diversity Media Inc., and Diane Moore, Non-Executive Director at Société Générale, Axis Bank, Cantor Fitzgerald Ireland and Switch Mobility. 

Discover more about the Innovation Challenge Hackathon. For further information about Cifas’ existing products and services, visit here. 

ENDS 

Notes to Editors 

For more information, please contact Hayley Paterson, Cifas Press and PR Manager, on 020 4551 7072 or press@cifas.org.uk. 

About Cifas 

Cifas is the largest not-for-profit fraud prevention service in the UK. It has more than 750 members who represent various industries including banking, retail, insurance, and telecoms. Cifas protects businesses and individuals from fraud through effective and secure data and intelligence sharing between the private, public and third sectors. Additionally, the independent organisation offers a range of products and services to help businesses prevent fraud and delivers specialist counter-fraud training through its Cifas Fraud and Cyber Academy and Digital Learning programme. 

Cifas’ data is included in the Office of National Statistics England and Wales Crime Statistics of police recorded crime and it works alongside law enforcement agencies in tackling fraud. In 2023, Cifas members prevented more than £1.8bn of fraud losses. Website | LinkedIn | X 

Contact us at press@cifas.org.uk