It is estimated that global smartphone users exceed 3 billion and this market is expected to grow gradually in the coming years. Smartphone users need continuous and reliable connections provided by telecommunication operators’ networks, which have to be stable and reliable and can integrate technological innovation to operate 24 hours per day.
Telecom fraud loss record US$28.3 billion annually
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Today, the telecommunications market is one of the most technologically advanced and highly competitive, but it is also a target for a large number of telecom fraud attempts that could affect its profitability and reputation. The Telecommunications Fraud Control Association’s Fraud Loss Survey reveals that the telecommunications market recorded revenues of US$1.625 trillion in 2022, with an overall telecom fraud loss of 1.74%, equivalent to US$28.3 billion annually.
What are the main challenges for telecom operators around the world
Here are the top six:
- Reduce subscription fraud losses;
- Streamline and visualize in real-time the identification and validation process of new subscribers;
- Minimize acquisitions on accounts that can generate large losses;
- Reduce theft of high-end devices;
- Optimize and streamline the customer experience;
- Enhance your reputation and increase customer loyalty;
How can telecom operators detect and prevent telecom fraud in advance
That’s a significant figure, so operators need to combat fraud in an agile manner and control fraudsters’ moves so as to reduce losses and provide a better service experience to their customers. They need to focus on reducing subscription fraud losses through telecom fraud detection and prevention, using business rules, analytical models and link network analysis. In particular, it is critical to open authentication channels for their customer in new subscription approval rates, leaving no loopholes for fraudsters to slip through.
Through advanced analytics and adopting a hybrid approach, telecom operators can anticipate fraud during the subscription processes of potentially malicious users. In this sense, a hybrid approach including business rules, analytical techniques, artificial intelligence and machine learning can help increase telecom fraud detection by up to 20%. And it can reduce false positives by 40% to 70%
By generating alerts at the time a subscription is made, the productivity of the subscription process can be improved by approximately 15% to 20%. Also, blocking potentially fraudulent Apps before a renewal or service purchase is completed helps telecom operators prevent and reduce fraud losses.
This can improve customer satisfaction by protecting their interests such as data, financial information, types of plans, and identifying and blocking those who try to impersonate or steal the identity of users. At the same time, the risk of damage to telecom operators’ reputations will be reduced.
Attacking Telecommunications Fraud and Scams
The hybrid analytics approach has the capabilities to combat telecom fraud in areas such as subscriptions, distributors, credit cards, SIM chips and others. Similarly, it can help telcos leverage all their data to identify profiles that may pose some risk. It also can detect telecom fraud faster and more effectively by using AI and ML to recognize links, behavioral anomalies, technologies and high-risk activities.
Moreover, it streamlines and strengthens investigative work through alerts, advanced searches, visualization of links between networks and geospatial maps, text analysis, and case and workflow management.
Telecom operators can track and monitor fraudulent activities within their organization and generate detailed reports on the findings. Here, analytical feedback leverages investigations to establish rules and models to counteract changes in observed trends.
In a word, a hybrid approach will continue to be highly relevant, especially when telecom organizations and users realize that subscription fraud will spread around the world. At the same time, there is a progressive growth in the number of smartphones and connected devices.