Phone fraud loss trends

FTC reporting shows an upward trend in fraud reports and losses perpetrated using telephone calls in the U.S. In this article, we review the recent trends and potential remedies. Let’s have a look.

Fraud loss trends in the U.S.

Fraud Losses Perpetrated by Phone Are Increasing

Figure 1. U.S. Fraud Loss Trends with Contact by Telephone (FTC Consumemr Sentinel Network)

The data represented in Figure 1 is from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Consumer Sentinel Network reports. Figure 1 shows total and median fraud losses from January 2022 through March 2024 where the contact method was by telephone call.

Despite an overall drop in fraud losses reported during this period, total and median fraud losses by telephone call have been increasing.

Furthermore, telephone call has been near the top of the contact methods for fraud reports during this period.

This data highlights the urgent need to protect consumers from fraud schemes attempted by telephone. Since many of these calls originate as robocalls, robocall mitigation and prevention methods play an important role in solving this problem.

Potential remedies

Telephone service providers along the call path from origination to termination can use a variety of methods to identify and mitigate suspicious calls, including:

• RealNumber DNO identification of calls with numbers that should never originate calls
• Calling number reputation analytics
• SIP Analytics real-time detection of unusual traffic using dynamic self-learning algorithms
• STIR/SHAKEN call authentication and verification
• Blacklisting tools using any combination of calling and called numbers, locations, countries, user agents, OCNS and IP addresses
• Shield identification of invalid and high-risk calling and called numbers
• Number portability correction.

Originating service providers and gateway providers can use these solutions to ensure compliance with requirements to mitigate illegal robocalls.

Intermediate wholesale providers can employ these methods to protect their networks from traffic that squanders network resources.

Terminating service providers can use these solutions to protect their subscribers from annoying and unlawful calls that often are intended to perpetrate fraud.

TransNexus solutions

TransNexus is a leader in developing innovative software to manage and protect telecommunications networks. The company has over 25 years’ experience in providing telecom software solutions including branded calling, toll fraud prevention, robocall mitigation and prevention, TDoS prevention, analytics, routing, billing support, STIR/SHAKEN and SHAKEN certificate services.

Contact us today to learn more.