Contego works in partnership with online classified advertisers, law enforcement agencies, and counter-fraud forums to detect and block fraudulent listings. The business was founded by Adrian Black, a graduate of the 2011 New Venture Creation Programme at Cass.

Contego has secured the offering from the Cass Entrepreneurship Fund and a further £50,000 from angel investors.

Jane Reoch, Cass Entrepreneurship Fund: “Online fraud is a significant and growing issue for both consumers and businesses, and Contego provides a highly effective solution. The team at Contego have a wealth of experience in this sector and we are delighted to be involved in backing them.” The Cass Entrepreneurship Fund is a £10m investment fund providing finance for start-up and early stage companies across the Cass Business School community. The Fund was established in 2010 with the support of Peter Cullum, a high profile Cass MBA alumnus and the Founder of Towergate Insurance.

The Fund forms part of the Peter Cullum Centre for Entrepreneurship at Cass which offers access to venture funding as well as entrepreneurship teaching programmes.

Contego Founder and CEO Adrian Black : “The investment from the Cass Entrepreneurship Fund means that we can develop and progress this exciting new concept. Our pilot project has attracted interest from a range of companies, from smaller specialist firms to FTSE-250 companies and we hope this investment will cement the concept’s global potential as a counter-fraud tool.