Insights

From Insight to Impact: Fighting Fraud Across Borders at the CCUK Fraud Summit

May 28, 2026

In April, Somos sponsored and attended the Comms Council UK (CCUK) Fraud Summit in London, bringing together telecom providers, regulators, law enforcement and civil services to focus on one shared challenge: telecom fraud is borderless and the response must be, too.

The event opened with a keynote from The Right Honorable Lord Hanson of Flint, Minister of State at the Home Office, who emphasized the scale of harm fraud creates, the growing role of AI and the need to intervene earlier in the fraud lifecycle through coordinated public and private action.

For Somos, the Fraud Summit reinforced a reality we see across markets: fraudsters move faster than policies, processes and enforcement boundaries. Progress depends on coordinated action built on trusted data and practical tools that networks can use every day.

Key Themes from the Day

• Cross-border cooperation is no longer optional, fraud routes exploit gaps between jurisdictions and networks
• Data-sharing needs structure, governance and clear pathways that turn information into action
• Practical tools like traceback, Do Not Originate (DNO) lists and number intelligence create measurable impact when operationalized at scale

Art of the Possible: International Joining the Dots

Somos’ Justen Davis, Senior Director, Global Public Policy and Industry Relations, joined the panel “Art of the Possible: International Joining the Dots”, moderated by Alex Jennings of the CCUK Council alongside industry leaders John Ayers of the Industry Traceback Group, Ian Hindle of NICC and Lynne Bradley of the Cyber Defence Alliance.

The conversation centered on what global collaboration looks like in practice, and how to convert that collaboration into repeatable outcomes:

• A modern traceback capability that is repeatable, trusted and supported by clear processes across providers
• A more complete numbering repository so providers can better understand how numbers are allocated, used and potentially abused

Traceback As a Repeatable Capability

Traceback works best when it is built into normal operations, not treated as a one-off. The panel pointed to the value of a neutral model with secure workflows and broad participation that helps move investigations into disruption faster.

What effective traceback enables:

• Faster identification of upstream sources of suspicious traffic
• More consistent provider-to-provider coordination
• Clearer pathways to enforcement and mitigation actions

Comprehensive Do Not Originate (DNO) Lists

DNO lists help stop fraud that relies on impersonation by flagging numbers that should never originate outbound calls. The panel reinforced that DNO is strongest when treated as a real-time ecosystem, supported by governance and layered with telephone-number intelligence and network signals. That combination helps providers block calls from numbers that should not be in use at all, reducing robocalls and abusive traffic.

What this could mean for the UK:

With large proportions of invalid and unallocated numbers, there is a clear opportunity to tighten control over numbering, identify who is enabling misuse and give enterprises and providers tools to contribute to a shared DNO and intelligence framework.

How DNO strengthens defenses:

• Flags high-confidence fraud signals earlier in the call path
• Reduces reliance on reactive, downstream blocking
• Creates shared friction for bad actors across interconnected networks

Somos’ RealNumber^® DNO supports this approach at scale with the most comprehensive DNO list in the industry, backed by trusted number intelligence that can be applied consistently across networks and markets.

Home Office Online Crime Centre

In the afternoon, Justen joined the “Home Office Online Crime Centre” panel moderated by Tracey Wright, CCUK Chair, alongside Rod Lowson of the UK Home Office, Paul Jacobus of Ofcom and Paul Morris of Vonage.

The conversation focused on what system-level coordination could look like and how industry participation helps shift fraud prevention earlier in the lifecycle.

Central Coordination Across Sectors

The Online Crime Centre is intended to operate as a hub that pools data, analyzes trends and coordinates interventions across government, law enforcement and private-sector partners.

Scaling Cross-sector Participation

Current pilots and test-and-learn approaches are shaping how participation could scale across sectors including telecoms, banking and technology platforms.

One Data-sharing Framework

The long-term ambition discussed is a single data-sharing framework that supports broader participation and clearer handoffs between stakeholders.

Moving Forward Together

The CCUK Fraud Summit reinforced that meaningful progress against telecom fraud depends on coordinated action across industry, regulators and government. International cooperation, responsible data-sharing and practical tools like traceback, DNO and trusted number intelligence help providers move faster, disrupt campaigns earlier and better protect customers across borders.

Interested in learning more about the solutions available to help strengthen your organization’s fraud defenses? Reach out to a Somos team member today at connect@somos.com!