EE has launched a new Digital Identity platform aimed at helping businesses protect their customers from fraud and identity theft. The service offers online checks in order to verify a customer’s identity in real time, along with other tools for combating fraudulent activity.
One of the most common criminal activities that will be tackled by the service is SIM swap fraud, which happens when a customer’s phone number is transferred without their knowledge. Fraudsters can subsequently intercept messages or calls to the number and gain unauthorized access to online accounts.
EE’s Digital Identity ‘SIM Swap’ checker will enable businesses to spot when a customer’s SIM was last changed, with any recent changes flagging up instances of potential fraud. Working with banking partners, the information is then used to put a stop on any transactions taking place until further identity checks are carried out.
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The service also boasts a ‘Call Divert’ feature, which confirms that no call diversions have been put in place on a phone number, ensuring all calls reach the intended user and are not diverted to a fraudulent number.
Identity theft
In addition, the platform aims to tackle fraudulent online account sign ups with its ‘Know Your Customer’ product. Businesses will be able to cross-check new customer information with data held in EE databases. The checks will be able to identify if a phone has been reported lost or stolen, so they can be confident that a customer’s identity is genuine.
Unauthorised financial fraud losses are on the increase. According to a UK Finance report: Fraud – The Facts 2020, these totalled £824.8 million in 2019. However, the number has decreased 2% since 2018, illustrating that new identity verification products, such as the Digital Identity platform, are helping businesses carry out more effective customer authentication and prevent unauthorised fraud.
Christian Thrane, Managing Director of Consumer Marketing at BT said: “At BT and EE, we are committed to innovating to help protect customers from fraud and are already working closely with a number of industries, including banking, e-commerce and gaming, to protect millions of transactions every day.
We are continuing to move into new sectors to help prevent even more fraudulent activity, so consumers across the UK can be confident in the safety of their online experiences.”
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