Insights

Phone Numbers: The Overlooked Asset

Jan 29, 2026

All modern institutions depend heavily on their phone numbers – financial institutions perhaps more than most. Numbers, through the use of calls and SMS messaging, are how banks alert customers, verify transactions and deliver trust in real-time. Yet today, most organizations still treat them as simple contact points, rather than what they truly are: rich, vital and vulnerable identity assets.

When numbers are mismanaged, they become open doors for fraud – even the means of destroying a brand’s reputation.

The numbers bear this out. According to a recent survey commissioned by Somos, featuring data from over 200 U.S.-based financial professionals, 55% of financial institutions identify spoofing and 45% identify impersonation as major fraud modes tied directly to phone number misuse. This means the most damaging types of financial telecom fraud not only utilize phone numbers, they rely on number owners being unable or unwilling to effectively manage those numbers.

The Weak Link

In most institutions, number management is the responsibility of marketing or IT. This means that many institutions still treat number management as an operational function – a matter of routing and cost – rather than as a crucial security layer.

According to the survey, only 41% of respondents identified numbers that they would never originate a call from as Do-Not-Originate (DNO) numbers and only 60% monitor calls in real-time, leaving a significant share without formal telecom fraud safeguards.

Security is all too rarely part of the conversation – and this is exactly the gap that attackers exploit. For example, when a phone number is recycled without verification, or left active after an employee leaves, it becomes a tool for impersonation. Fraudsters can spoof or mimic it to reach customers who have no reason to doubt them.

The result? Fraud that succeeds based on unearned personal trust. A customer gets a call from what appears to be their bank, and the voice on the line sounds helpful. The caller ID checks out. And within minutes, the damage is done – often irreparably. Someone’s hard-earned money is lost, and the reputation of an institution takes a hit.

Importance Realized

The good news: a shift appears to be underway. Institutions are starting to treat telecom data as part of their security infrastructure. Per the survey, six in ten are working with providers on real-time monitoring and end-to-end call authentication and these partnerships are changing how fraud is detected.

Real-time monitoring lets institutions track unusual call activity as it happens, while end-to-end authentication verifies that a given call originated from the party who actually has the right-to-use it. Combined, these turn a static phone number into a living, verifiable credential. The same number that was once a liability becomes a talisman of identity and trust.

Building Security Around the Number

Effective phone number management starts with inventory. An institution that knows exactly which numbers it owns, what each is used for and how they’re protected is one that can jump on anomalies. A clear catalog also helps prevent internal confusion, eliminating those dormant lines or duplicate numbers that fraudsters like to exploit.

Next comes verification. Token-based systems can link numbers to authorized users, ensuring that any activity tied to that number aligns with a known identity.

Finally, there’s continuous monitoring. By working with telecom partners, institutions can track number activity in real-time, identifying spoofing or abnormal call patterns before customers are affected.

RealBrand®

RealBrand, from Somos, is a perfect tool for achieving this kind of stronger number management. It centralizes number ownership in a single place, giving brands clearer visibility into the usages and behaviors of every number they own – which, in turn, grants better control of how they’re represented on consumer screens. It empowers organizations to treat their number inventory as a coordinated asset rather than a sporadic junk drawer of digital tools.=

Ready to see RealBrand in action? Schedule a demo today at connect@somos.com.