Combatting Messaging Fraud: Top 7 Business Benefits of Number Lock and Number Watch
by netnumber Global Data Services
As the telecommunications ecosystem continues to shore up its defenses against messaging fraud, netnumber has launched two powerful new tools to boost protection against brand impersonation and other nefarious activities in the U.S. text messaging ecosystem.
The new solutions - Number Lock and Number Watch – help defend telecom providers, financial institutions and other business enterprises against increasingly sophisticated acts of organized messaging fraud.
Chief among these is brand impersonation, where fraudsters may attempt to use well-known business phone numbers (such as those used to report a stolen credit card) to obtain the trust of their victims via text messaging and then use that trust to engage consumers in damaging, costly activities.
Both solutions are offered through the netnumber Services Registry (nnSR), an industry registry launched and managed by netnumber GDS and a critical piece of the U.S. message routing infrastructure. The new services include sought-after security measures and real-time monitoring to deter brand impersonation and other emerging U.S. text messaging crimes.
How Number Lock Strengthens Security
Number Lock increases security for business enterprises by restricting text messaging on customer-specified 10-digit non-mobile numbers upon the request of the subscriber to the number. This enables enterprises to secure their brand and prevent fraudsters from using well-known business phone numbers via text messaging to gain a victim’s trust.
Business Benefits include:
1. Helps protect enterprises and their customers against fraud via text messaging. Number Lock helps protect against impersonation crimes by enabling netnumber customers to restrict text messaging on specified non-mobile numbers, making them virtually impossible to target.2. It is easy and fast to activate. Number Lock can be quickly implemented by defining the phone numbers to be protected using one of the supported methods.
3. Informs the enterprise of unauthorized text-enablement attempts and other activity on the protected numbers. Customers receive regular reports on text-enablement requests for their numbers.
4. Supports Do Not Originate (DNO) Capabilities. Enterprises protecting their phone numbers with Number Lock also share the DNO characteristic of such phone numbers with the industry.
Number Watch Provides Real-Time Alerts to Suspicious Activities
Number Watch is a comprehensive phone number monitoring solution for telecom providers, financial institutions and enterprises. Number Watch stores customer-specified phone numbers on a watchlist continually monitored for a wide range of events and activities by netnumber. The customer is immediately informed if any monitored events are observed on watchlist phone numbers. Essentially, Number Watch allows customers to be alerted to events in real time, helping them detect any potential fraudulent activity.
Business Benefits include:
5. Optimizes processes and workflows to react to specific changes to phone
numbers. Number Watch enables enterprises to define a watchlist of their phone
numbers to be continually monitored (such as those used by call centers, local
agencies, employees, etc.) and select the types of events to be flagged on these
numbers.
6. Helps to avert fraud by identifying phone numbers showing certain behaviors in
real time. Number Watch provides continual monitoring of the customer’s watchlist
numbers and provides real-time alerts if any of the selected activities are observed.
7. Fast to integrate and easy to use. If any of the monitored events are observed on
watchlist phone numbers, the customer is informed immediately via REST API. Using
this information, Number Watch customers can determine if the flagged activities are legitimate (e.g., a valid number type or carrier change) or illegitimate (e.g., attempted
fraudulent use) and act accordingly.
The two new services are part of netnumber’s continuing efforts to provide creative and novel ways to undercut communications fraudsters in order to protect our customers, partners and the industry as a whole.
To learn more about Number Lock or Number Watch, visit netnumber.com/number-watch and netnumber.com/number-lock.
