A unified database of phone numbers enhances client interaction and strengthens anti-fraud measures.
Drawback-Free Phone Numbers: A Cryptic Journey
In our digitally-driven world, the phone number has morphed into a crucial identifier, serving not only for communication purposes but also for a myriad of trusted digital processes. In an interview with VanillaPlus, George Malim, the managing editor, grills David Wilson, a high-ranking exec at iconectiv, about the significance of number portability through a centralized database, and its role in blocking fraudsters and ensuring seamless transitions for users.
GM: Why is number portability so important in the fight against fraud?
DW: The phone number, in today's digital-centric reality, serves as a device to validate identities so that individuals and corporations can establish communication lines with you. Currently, everyone uses their phone number daily for various business and personal needs. Consequently, the phone number has turned into a trojan horse for scoundrels to assume identities. Rapidly evolving technology provides crooks with a new playground to anonymously defraud people and businesses of data and money. The phone number has become one of the most vital digital identity data points because once a crook obtains control of a person's phone number, they can hijack their identity within minutes, accessing bank accounts, making purchases, and perpetrating further crimes.
The ramifications of this fraud go beyond nicking grandma's life savings; it finances illegal activities such as drug cartels, human trafficking, illegal gun sales, terrorism, and armed conflicts. These high stakes have heightened the focus on safeguarding the phone number and maintaining its locked door against wannabe defrauders, crooks, and con-artists. Hijacking phone numbers is just a stepping stone to account takeover of bank and e-commerce accounts, impersonation to open new accounts or lines of credit, benefit theft, extortion, intellectual property theft, and the pilferage of sensitive corporate information.
GM: What measures are being taken to prevent number-related scams, and why has so much reliance on the phone number developed?
DW: The mobile phone number has become the foundation of the entire digital economy because it facilitates the essential, trusted digital identity required for interactions. In the mobile-dominated world, the phone is the gateway for everything users do, and phone numbers have become an incredibly valuable and unique identification method. Given this, it's crucial to securely manage mobile numbers as users switch service providers.
For this reason, a secure porting process has become essential to enabling users to retain their number for life while thwarting crooks who try to exploit the porting process. Many countries worldwide have set up centralized databases that provide essential information about each service provider that owns or manages the number, the person or business associated with the number, and when it was ported. These data points can help raise alarms and detect stolen numbers, foiling fraudsters and their malevolent activities.
GM: What flaws in number porting need to be rectified?
DW: The most significant flaw lies in the fact that not all countries have centralized databases for phone numbers. Without a centralized system, security vulnerabilities are exacerbated since there's no reliable information about every individual phone number.
Fortunately, different countries have adopted similar approaches, setting out requirements for service providers to comply with a centralized number portability system and employing the call routing method of 'all-call-query.' Unfortunately, certain countries, like the UK, have a porting process rather than a secure centralized system. The process hasn't kept pace with technological advancements or the heavy reliance users place on mobile devices for various tasks beyond standard voice and text communication.
These differences create opportunities for fraudsters to exploit archaic porting processes designed for a past era. Countries using these outdated processes face security weaknesses and loopholes, which need to be closed immediately to prevent identity theft and other fraud.
GM: How does iconectiv aid in this quest?
DW: We've been providing secure number porting centralized database systems to countries worldwide, supporting the 'all-call-query' method. For instance, we're the number porting provider in the United States and India. Both countries possess centralized systems based on the latest security standards, safeguarding the integrity of phone numbers while permitting flexibility for users and ensuring they maintain their number of choice.
There are variations in how porting is established and managed in different markets. In general, we observe best practices from countries like Chile and the US that rely on centralized databases and have efficient policies for sharing porting data with organizations such as financial institutions to mitigate fraudulent activities. However, issues need to be addressed to ensure not only safe porting but also smooth reshuffling of numbers.
For example, phone numbers are typically assigned as a range to a service provider. These number ranges are familiar to each service provider's network routing systems, and calls and messages are directed to the correct service provider who owns that range. The situation becomes cumbersome when a customer switches providers, and this needs to be rectified to avoid inefficient routing.
For instance, if Vodafone owns a range of numbers, and a customer switches to O2, the number will continue to look like a Vodafone number. So, an 'all-call-query' process is necessary to ensure the call is routed correctly to the service provider responsible for the number (in this case, O2), eliminating the need for call forwarding from the original network to the new network. Countries that do not use a centralized system and 'all-call-query' rely on call-forwarding processes that increase routing costs, create delays, and decrease customer satisfaction.
Other flaws of not using a centralized number portability system include the potential loss of your number when you port it to a service provider that goes bankrupt. Since the centralized system doesn't exist, there's no sharing of ported numbers among the service providers.
GM: The UK was an early adopter of number portability. Is that process still relevant?
DW: In the UK, the current process dates back to the late 1990s and is donor-led, meaning the user goes to their current service provider to obtain a Porting Authorization Code (PAC code) to take to the service provider they wish to port their number to. Although the UK was one of the first countries to enable number portability, the phenomenal changes in technology between then and now have left an outdated number portability system. Consider that in 1998, there were no iPhones or VoIP options, yet the UK process has not evolved to reflect these dramatic changes and innovations in the market.
GM: What approaches have other markets adopted?
DW: We've supported number portability in India for almost 15 years. When it first launched, the process was donor-led, and porting volumes were low because the donor would encourage users to stay by taking the information about a user preparing to leave. Over time, we understood that the best way to handle the process is for the recipient - the new service provider - to take charge of the porting process. India and the US have significant porting volumes today, necessitating efficient porting systems. Conversely, in the UAE, where there are 22 million subscribers, volumes are smaller, so the system can be designed differently. Either way, the system should be secure, managed by a neutral administrator, and promote choice, convenience, and innovation offered by number portability.
- In the discussion of the evolving digital landscape, the importance of finance and technology becomes evident, as the security of phone numbers plays a crucial role in both business and personal transactions.
- As the phone number transforms into a vital digital identity, cybersecurity becomes increasingly important in safeguarding this information against fraudulent activities, protecting not only individuals but also businesses from the financial implications of identity theft and the funding of illegal activities.
