Insights

Somos Talks RealStories of Partnerships, Protection and Progress with Directo, TelSwitch and KeyBank

Nov 19, 2025

The 2025 Somos Summit brought together global thought leaders, industry experts and innovators to explore the intersection of Trust, Technology & Transformation. Held just outside Washington, D.C., this year’s event featured insightful sessions and meaningful conversations focused on advancing the telecom ecosystem and shaping the future of trusted communications.

Moderated by Bill LaRuffa, VP of Commercial Sales & Strategic Partnerships at Somos, this customer panel, Real Impact, Real Results: How Customers are Advancing Trust Through Somos Solutions, focused on proof – where trusted partnerships and the right tools turn into measurable outcomes. Joining LaRuffa were Ben Hoersch, Director of Client Protection at KeyBank; René Brun, VP of Wholesale Services at Directo powered by ComputerTel; and Aaron Woolfson, Founder of TelSwitch, Inc.

Bill LaRuffa framed the session around outcomes, not features. “Trust is the foundation of everything we do,” he said, adding that technology’s role is “not as the hero, but as the enabler.”

Impersonation fraud at the front line. Ben Hoersch explained how criminals use contextual priming to appear legitimate and move money quickly. “This is not a banking problem alone,” he said. “They know where you bank,” then mimic fraud alerts and steer victims into revealing sensitive information or pushing funds.

Network integrity and ROI. Réne Brun walked through Directo’s adoption of RealNumber^® Do Not Originate (DNO) to filter DNO ranges before they hit downstream carriers. Before DNO, “we were exhausting our network capacity very quickly,” which drove tickets, tracebacks and strained partner trust. Pairing DNO with stricter Know Your Customer (KYC) flipped margins and improved answer rates while reducing operational drag.

Compliance guardrails that prevent waste. Aaron Woolfson described how TelSwitch bakes the RealAgent^® data into lead hygiene so clients avoid misdials and TCPA exposure. The risk is straightforward –  “$500 per call?”– so pre-call validation pays for itself. On choosing Somos, he summed it up simply: “It’s really trust, and it’s people that want to do the right thing.”

Bill closed by urging attendees to translate principles into practice – protect people, harden processes and measure impact so trust compounds across the ecosystem.

Key takeaways

• Treat Tech as an Enabler: outcomes improve when trusted partners align process, policy and product.

• Cut Fraud at the Source: RealNumber^® DNO and firm KYC reduce bad traffic, tickets and tracebacks while lifting answer rates.

• Validate Before you Dial: RealAgent^® checks and list hygiene lower TCPA risk and wasted outreach.

• Share Signals Fast: banks, carriers and service providers need timely intel to blunt impersonation schemes.

• Make Trust Measurable: track reductions in fraud loss, operational load and customer attrition to prove impact.

Experience the full conversation at your convenience by watching the on-demand recording today!