Mobile APIs in Action: Preventing Fraud Across the Customer Lifecycle

Fraud moves fast across customer journeys, often beginning with a call or text, exploiting identity and trust signals, then leading to account access, payment fraud or financial loss.

In a recent Communications Fraud Control Association (CFCA) KNOW Session, “Mobile APIs in Action and Preventing Fraud Across the Customer Lifecycle,” Somos’ Ryan Karnas, Senior Director of Product Management, and XConnect’s Matt Cooper, Global Marketing Lead, discussed how real-time mobile network intelligence can help organizations detect risk earlier, reduce unnecessary friction and strengthen trust across communications channels.

Key Takeaways

• Fraud prevention relies on connected intelligence from telecom and technology ecosystems, giving financial institutions the signals they need to make better fraud decisions. Phone numbers can be central to high-trust customer moments, including onboarding, account recovery, fraud callbacks and identity verification.

• Real-time mobile network APIs can help organizations assess identity, number status, device possession and flag fraud in real-time.

• SIM Swap and call forwarding signals can help flag potential account takeover before transactions or account changes are approved.

• Number Verify can confirm device and number possession without relying on traditional SMS one-time passcodes.

• Scam Signal can help detect signs of coercion during high-risk transactions.

• KYC Match can support smoother onboarding by comparing customer-provided details with trusted and verified operator data.

• Fraud controls should match the level of risk, keeping low-risk journeys simple and adding scrutiny when the action requires it.

Understanding the Fraud Challenge

The webinar opened with a look at the size and speed of the global fraud problem, with data from several industry reports, including:

• $442 billion lost to scams worldwide in 2025, according to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance

• $41.8 billion lost globally by telecom providers to fraud, according to CFCA

• 91% of U.S. financial industry respondents reporting an increase in fraud attempts in 2025, according to Somos’ Cost of Trust report

Together, these figures point to a shared challenge: fraud does not stay in one lane. Scams often begin in communications channels, use trust and identity signals to gain credibility, then monetize through payments, account access or other forms of financial fraud.

Why Communications Channels Matter

Phone numbers are tied to some of the most sensitive customer interactions. Businesses use them for onboarding, one-time passcodes, transaction alerts, fraud callbacks, account recovery, customer support and identity verification.

These are legitimate trust moments, but they are also attractive targets for criminals. Fraudsters use voice, SMS, spoofing, smishing, phishing, vishing and social engineering to create urgency, impersonate trusted parties and move money. Generative AI and Fraud as a Service (FaaS) make scams more plausible and easier than ever to carry out.

That is why real-time network intelligence is becoming an important tool for understanding whether a customer interaction looks trustworthy in the moment.

What Network APIs Can Help Answer

The speakers outlined several core questions network APIs can help organizations address:

• Is the person or device presenting itself as expected?

• Has the phone number recently changed, gone inactive, been reassigned or experienced a SIM swap?

• Can the call or message path support the trust being placed in the interaction?

• Can risk be detected early enough to reduce harm without adding friction for legitimate customers?

These questions matter because many scams unfold quickly. Earlier detection can help organizations intervene before account access, payment activity or other high-risk actions are completed.

Mobile Network Intelligence in Action

Mobile network signals can support fraud prevention across the customer lifecycle.

Number Verify confirms that a customer is in possession of the device and mobile number being used at that moment, working in the background through the mobile network instead of relying on SMS one-time passcodes.

SIM Swap checks identify whether the SIM or eSIM linked to a number has changed recently. While many SIM swaps are legitimate, fraudulent SIM swaps can allow criminals to intercept calls, messages and security checks.

Call Forwarding signals show whether calls or messages are being redirected away from the customer’s device, which may indicate that someone else is trying to control the communication channel.

Scam Signal can help detect when a customer is on a live call while completing a transaction, a possible sign of coercion in authorized payment scams.

KYC (Know Your Customer) Match compares customer-provided details, such as name, address or ZIP code, with trusted mobile operator data to help confirm that a person and mobile number belong together.

Matching Friction to Risk

A key theme of the webinar was that friction should rise with risk.

For everyday banking activity, authentication should remain simple and largely invisible. For new credit card applications or high-value loan requests, stronger checks may be appropriate. In the contact center, a balance inquiry can stay quick, while a sensitive account change should trigger additional authentication.

The goal is not to add barriers everywhere. It is to apply the right level of scrutiny at the right moment.

Strengthening Trust Across the Customer Lifecycle

Mobile network APIs can help reduce fraud, but they can also improve the customer experience. Real-time trusted data can reduce reliance on clunky authentication steps, lower onboarding abandonment, support KYC and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) processes and help organizations make better decisions with less manual review.

Want to learn more about how mobile APIs can help prevent fraud across the customer lifecycle? Watch the full webinar on-demand.