The End of Dangerous SIM Swap Fraud is Here: Payfone Extends Real-Time SIM Swap Detection Algorithms to Verizon Subscribers
NEW YORK, Sept. 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- SIM swap attacks continue to make headlines, with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey becoming one of the most famous victims to date when his mobile phone number was taken over last month. Similar scams are rapidly increasing in frequency, impacting high-profile CEOs, Hollywood celebrities, cryptocurrency communities, and everyday people, as criminals take advantage of security loopholes and the vulnerabilities of 2FA (two-factor authentication) to hijack social media accounts or steal money and cryptocurrency by taking over victims' mobile phone numbers.
Payfone, the world's leading digital identity authentication provider, today announced that it is taking a stand against SIM swap attacks with real-time SIM swap fraud detection technology that has the power to end these kinds of hacks for Verizon subscribers.
The technology leverages Payfone's Trust Score(TM), a real-time measure of identity confidence, and telecom intelligence signals to thwart both SIM swap and device swap fraud in real time. The patented capability is the only technology of its kind that can inform banks, cryptocurrency platforms, social media platforms, and other service providers of suspicious activity related to SIM swaps in real time, allowing them to take action to prevent illegitimate withdrawals and transactions while also making it easy for legitimate customers to transact.
"Businesses and consumers now rely on 2FA to secure our most essential digital services, services that are woven into the fabric of our daily lives," said Rodger Desai, Chief Executive Officer, Payfone. "It's critical that we extend our technology to take a stand to fight this national threat."
To carry out SIM swap fraud, hackers take over a victim's phone number and exploit weaknesses in 2FA in order to gain access to bank, cryptocurrency, or social media accounts. Without Payfone's advanced algorithms, enterprises with SIM swap detection technology may have visibility into the fact that a SIM swap has occurred, but they are unable to see when the event took place, which is a major factor when it comes to differentiating fraud from a legitimate transaction. With Payfone's real-time SIM swap detection algorithms, companies can now not only see that a SIM swap has taken place, but also the proximity of the event to a high-risk transaction (for example, a SIM swap that is immediately followed by a password reset).
In addition to preventing fraudsters from accessing victims' accounts illegally, Payfone's patented technology enables a more frictionless and pleasant experience for good customers. Since many SIM swaps are legitimate (in 2018, there were 90 million ports and 100 million device upgrades in the U.S.), enterprises do not want to slow down the experience for customers who may have legitimately ported their numbers or upgraded their devices. By analyzing the contextual behavior and time of a SIM swap, Payfone's Trust Score can provide a faster and easier experience for good customers while identifying potential bad actors and subjecting them to further inspection.
Enterprises who are interested in protecting their Verizon customers, as well as phone subscribers of other carriers, against SIM swap fraud via Payfone's service can visit payfone.com for more information.
About Payfone
Payfone's award-winning Trust Platform(TM) and Trust Score(TM) bring trust to the digital economy by enabling businesses to instantly verify customers while thwarting fraud and cyberattacks in real-time; all within a privacy-first, zero-knowledge framework. Payfone serves 6 of the top 10 US financial institutions, and leading healthcare, insurance, technology and retail companies. Learn more at payfone.com and linkedin.com/company/payfone.
Press Contact:
Yuka Yoneda
yyoneda@payfone.com
212.614.6927
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SOURCE Payfone
