What is location-based fraud detection and how does it work?

Radar Protect applies this approach to stop account takeovers, location spoofing, bonus abuse, and geo-compliance violations in real time. Because Radar works at the SDK level on iOS and Android, it captures the precise, hard-to-fake signals that server-side and IP-based tools miss.

How is GPS-based fraud detection different from IP geolocation?

The result is significantly more accurate and significantly harder to fake. Radar Protect combines GPS with environment fingerprinting to catch the spoofing techniques that IP-based tools from providers like MaxMind, SEON, and Sift are not designed to detect.

How does Radar detect location spoofing and VPN use?

Radar cross-references GPS, IP address, Wi-Fi, device sensor data, and behavioral patterns to find locations that don't match what the device is doing. This catches GPS spoofing apps, VPNs and proxies (including residential proxies), device tampering, emulators, and device farms. Radar's mobile SDKs are independently audited and certified by Gaming Labs International (GLI).

What industries use Radar Protect?

Radar Protect is used across any industry where location and device integrity are critical to fraud prevention and compliance. Current use cases include food delivery and ride sharing (fake couriers, spoofed pickups, bonus abuse), peer-to-peer payments and neobanks (mule accounts, impossible travel, account takeovers), gaming and betting (geo-compliance, location spoofing, bonus abuse), retail and e-commerce (promo abuse, bot operators, refund scams), and financial services (impossible travel, KYC accuracy, account integrity). Radar wins fastest where the app already uses GPS and where fraudsters depend on location spoofing and device farms.

How does Radar Protect complement existing fraud tools like Sift or SEON?

Radar Protect adds a precise location and device signal layer that complements, rather than replaces, existing fraud tools. Platforms like Sift and SEON are built primarily on behavioral analytics, IP scoring, and device fingerprinting, signals that are increasingly easy to fake as privacy restrictions tighten and spoofing techniques grow more sophisticated. Radar fills that gap with GPS-level location accuracy, environment fingerprinting, and real-time spoofing detection that server-side tools cannot replicate. Most teams integrate Radar alongside their existing fraud stack, routing Radar's location signals into their existing rules engine or risk scoring model.

Reveal is a fraud detection API that surfaces device and network intelligence and risk scores across every web and mobile session without requiring location permission. Call revealRisk() at signup, login, checkout, or transaction time and get back a risk score with clear reasoning, IP context, and device signals. When a session is high risk, you can step up to full location verification to confirm exactly where a user is.

Do I need to ask users for location permissions to use Reveal?

No. Reveal works across every web and mobile session without requiring any location permission. It's built specifically for the traffic that happens before a permission is ever granted: first-time app opens, web sessions, and users who dismiss the location prompt. When a session is flagged as high risk, you can then choose to request location verification for that specific session, rather than asking every user upfront.

How does Reveal work with location verification?

When that score is high, you call trackVerified() to confirm exactly where the user physically is, using GPS, Wi-Fi, and other sensor data that's far harder to spoof than an IP address. This step-up workflow means you're only requesting location permissions for the sessions that actually need it, rather than every user across your business.

What types of fraud does Reveal detect?

Reveal detects location spoofing (VPNs, proxies, and privacy relays), bonus and promo abuse, account takeover, account sharing, new account fraud, coordinated abuse like fake accounts and fake reviews, and automated attacks from emulators and device farms. Because it runs on device and network intelligence, it works across every session regardless of industry, and can be paired with location verification for use cases like geo-compliance and physical presence confirmation.

Radar vs. Xpoint

The best Xpoint alternative

Radar is the modern, developer-friendly alternative to Xpoint for geo-compliance and fraud prevention. Leading operators like DraftKings, Underdog, and bet365 trust Radar for superior performance, easier integration, customizable rules and reporting, and more cost-effective pricing.

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The new standard for geo-compliance and location verification

Verify player locations, prevent spoofing and bonus abuse, and investigate fraud with precise location, device, and network signals. Integrate quickly with developer-friendly SDKs and APIs, customize rules to fit your needs, and scale with dedicated support.

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Why teams choose Radar over Xpoint

Easier to integrate

Radar’s modern SDKs and APIs connect to your existing stack with a few lines of code, so most teams ship in a single sprint.

Superior performance

Radar handles more than 1 billion API calls per day from hundreds of millions of devices, with peaks above 20,000 per second.

More cost-effective

Radar’s proprietary infrastructure and economies of scale keep costs lower than legacy solutions or building in-house.

use cases

How teams use Radar

Geo-compliance

Verify every user is where they need to be

Run real-time geolocation checks before every wager or transaction to confirm users are in a licensed state or jurisdiction. Radar detects device country and state using accurate jurisdictional polygons, then applies state-specific rules and exclusion zones.

Fraud prevention

Stop promo abuse and location spoofing

Block bad actors in real time, from signup through every transaction. Radar uses location and device signals to detect GPS spoofing, VPNs, residential proxies, emulators, and device farms before new-customer promotions are claimed and cashed out.

Fraud investigation

Investigate fraud and turn patterns into rules

Review flagged activity in Radar’s case management, identify patterns across users and devices, and uncover coordinated fraud rings. Turn what you learn into custom rules, and route signals into your existing fraud stack without custom development.

Geo-compliance built for the scale of regulated gaming

1B+

API calls per day, peaking at 20K+ per second

30+

licenses in North American jurisdictions

GLI and BMM

tested and certified

Trusted by industry leaders

Read the customer story

"Moving off our existing solution was a smooth experience. We saved seven figures in the process and improved the overall performance of our geolocation."

Sam Baker

SVP of Product

Read the customer story

"Radar gives us best-in-class performance and compliance at the best price. Partnering with them was a no-brainer."

Senior Engineering Leader at bet365

The Radar difference

The most accurate, real-time location data

Radar’s SDKs and APIs collect location, device, and sensor data across GPS, Wi-Fi, IP, and more, giving you the most accurate, real-time signals in the market.

Developer-friendly by design

Modern SDKs and APIs built for fast integration. Connect to your existing stack, integrate with just a few lines of code, and ship in a single sprint.

Enterprise-grade scale and support

1 billion API calls per day and installed on hundreds of millions of devices. SOC 2 and GDPR compliant, backed by a team of location experts who support you at every step.

Cost-effective, all-in-one

Proprietary infrastructure and economies of scale make Radar more cost-effective than legacy solutions or building in-house, so you get more location for less.

Frequently asked questions

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