Ofcom recently released the latest research into consumers’ experiences of suspicious calls, texts and app messages, focusing on the measures individuals take to identify and screen out this content and whether/how they report it.
We’re all aware of the huge rise in the amount of fraudulent communications we receive across multiple channels and platforms; from spoofed calls to scam texts impersonating trusted brands. And while awareness is increasing, the burden of identifying what is legitimate still largely falls on the end user.
The result?
A communications ecosystem where people hesitate before answering, question what they receive and increasingly disengage.
To restore trust, we must understand where fraud originates, address it at the source(s) and work together across the industry to combat it.
Ofcom’s findings highlight how consumers make decisions:
- They rely heavily on the number displayed and whether it looks familiar or legitimate
- They assess context, formatting and perceived authenticity of communications
- And even when warnings exist, confidence in those alerts is often not trusted either
So how can we help restore consumer trust in the communications they’re receiving?
From Guesswork to Certainty: The Role of Number Information Services
One initial step the industry can take to cut out some of this fraud is to use authoritative, real-time number status and risk information, which enables operators to make instant routing and blocking decisions.
In the context of Ofcom’s findings, this is key.
Consumers should not have to decide whether a call “looks suspicious” - it should have already been identified as such and appropriate measures taken to protect the end user. We have the tools that help the industry prevent common types of fraud, including Wangiri and spoof calls originating from numbers that they shouldn’t.
RiskALERT is designed to give operators real-time insight into high-risk number activity.
With solutions including AITCheck, DNOCheck and IRSFCheck, RiskALERT gives operators, CPaaS providers and enterprises over 90% detection rate on confirmed fraud cases. The databases are updated regularly using a unique scanning system.
Restoring Trust at the Network Level
The Ofcom data makes one thing clear:
Consumers are adapting their behaviour because they don’t fully trust what they receive. To change this, we need to demonstrate that, as an industry, we are doing the best we can to improve the user experience and minimise fraud opportunities.
Operators need to:
- Move from reactive fraud management to proactive prevention
- Replace uncertainty with real-time, data-driven decisions based on reliable information
- Deliver a more consistent and trusted communication experience
Restoring trust in telecoms isn’t about adding more warnings or expecting users to be more vigilant- making more informed decisions about traffic delivery is a key part.
With better number intelligence, operators can potentially stop fraud earlier (or before it happens), route traffic more intelligently and provide assurance that everyone has done their best to ensure that when a phone rings - or a message arrives - it can be trusted.
