Spec

Spec is a fraud prevention platform founded in San Jose, CA by former eBay colleagues Nate Kharrl and Patrick Chen. The company's core product is a Customer Journey Security Platform that monitors and analyzes user behavior across the entire customer journey—from initial session through sensitive transactions—rather than inspecting only discrete points such as login or checkout. The platform operates at the network edge via CDN or cloud service integration, requiring no JavaScript, APIs, or SDKs on the client side. It processes behavioral and linking data in under a millisecond, making it invisible to end users. Spec claims to analyze 14x more behavioral and contextual data than traditional fraud tools, enabling detection of threats earlier in the customer journey. Spec targets fraud types including account takeover, fake account creation, collusion rings, reseller abuse, promotion and coupon fraud, content abuse, and coordinated bot activity. The platform uses linking data to surface hidden relationships between malicious sessions, even when attackers rotate devices, IPs, and email addresses. To counter AI-powered attacks, Spec employs honeypots and deceptive signals designed to feed false data to automated attacker models, a technique the company describes as "AI-resistant." The platform adapts automatically to changes in user behavior or attacker tactics without requiring code changes from customers. Primary markets include e-commerce, ticketing, food delivery, and online marketplace businesses. Spec was selected for Mastercard's inaugural Start Path Security Solutions program, a cohort focused on cybersecurity, fraud prevention, digital identity, and payment resilience.