“We have deliberately kept a low business profile in favour of focusing on building capability and proving the model with leading industry partners before telling our story publicly. Our business is built on the need to outwit scammers,” Hinde said.
“Scams move quickly across brands, channels and institutions, and Static Technologies’ analysis shows 80% of phishing damage occurs in the first 90 minutes of a fraud event taking place. By the time most existing defences kick in, the harm has often already been done.”
Static Technologies co-founder and chief product officer Alex Hinde.
Hinde said their technology detects scam infrastructure, helps block access to malicious sites, disrupts criminal data collection, and gives banks intelligence they can use to act before losses occur.
While the pair could not divulge specifics about the technology because of commercial sensitivity, they said the strategy behind it shifts from brand-level to actor-level detection.
“We’re not chasing a specific brand or trademark someone’s impersonating; criminals swap brands in minutes, so that’s a losing game. We’re focused on identifying the criminal groups behind the activity, regardless of which brand they’re wearing that day.”
Thirkettle and Hinde have extensive experience across cyber, financial crime, banking and technology.
The company started with pre-seed backing from the New Zealand Fintech Fund, and has since raised capital from Icehouse Ventures, Movac and GD1 (Global from Day One).
But thanks to interest from companies in New Zealand and abroad, opportunities for growth are coming quickly.
Static Technologies co-founder and chief executive Georgina Thirkettle.
Thirkettle said the pilot showed New Zealand has an opportunity to lead in proactive scam-related fraud prevention globally.
“This is a New Zealand-built capability, developed with a clear purpose: to help institutions better protect customers from scams. The pilot has shown what is possible when the right organisations work together,” Thirkettle said.
“It has also given us a strong proof point as we build our profile in New Zealand and explore opportunities in markets facing similar challenges.”
The company has received interest from offshore markets and is expanding into Australia and the US.
Static Technologies has a local team of 10, but Thirkettle and Hinde expect to double that over the next six months as the business scales.
Despite rapid growth, the pair were adamant their focus remains on the New Zealand market.
“New Zealand is, and will always be, our home market. It’s a fantastic place to develop and test new technology, and we’re deeply passionate about protecting Kiwis from scammers, and that’s not going to change as we grow internationally.
“Since the pilot, we’ve added ASB as a partner, so we’re now working with the majority of the largest banks in New Zealand. The message we keep coming back to is that fraud is a collective problem. Every organisation sees a different piece of the puzzle, and the more of those pieces we bring together, the stronger the protection becomes for the whole country.”
Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.
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