LexisNexis® Risk Solutions Helps Detect and Block Fraud for Major Telco While Reducing Friction for Good Customers

This telco is a leading player in the European market. The company embarked on extending its portfolio of services to consumers and businesses, launching a new mobile phone service offering handsets on contract and SIM-only deals, via both telesales and online. The company is well-established and has a significant presence in the telecommunications industry, providing a wide range of services to its customers. With the launch of its new mobile service, the company aimed to cater to the growing demand for mobile communication and connectivity, while also addressing the challenges posed by fraudsters and cybercriminals. The telco's goal was to provide a seamless and secure experience for its customers, ensuring that legitimate users could easily access their services while preventing fraudulent activities.

As consumers continue to demand immediate communication and connectivity, telecommunication providers are becoming increasingly burdened by fraudsters looking to capitalize on the increased distribution of mobile phones. In launching the new mobile service, the telco recognized that it was susceptible to fraudsters looking to make money from premium handsets or defaulting on large phone bills. The company needed a solution that could accurately distinguish between legitimate and fraudulent customers in near real-time, while also promoting a frictionless experience for good, returning customers. The telco needed to be able to detect and block fraudsters signing up for new accounts using stolen identities, as well as block cybercriminals trying to take over good user accounts to order new handsets or SIMs. The company also needed a solution which would help detect fraudulent payments and identify fraudsters attempting to monetize stolen credit card credentials. As consumer behavior becomes more complex, with fraudsters becoming increasingly adept at mirroring that behavior, it was vital for the company to genuinely understand the digital identity of its connecting users and distinguish the good from the bad.

Digital identity intelligence from LexisNexis® ThreatMetrix® enabled the operator to more accurately detect and block fraudulent applications for new mobile phones. LexisNexis Risk Solutions is integrated at key points in the application process, from when the customer first connects, to the credit agreement and payment of the mobile phone and/or contract. Leveraging digital identity intelligence, the telco was able to accurately identify high-risk and unusual behavior at new account registration. Using dynamic, behavioral history from the LexisNexis® Digital Identity Network®, the telco company was able to understand the trustworthiness of connecting users by analyzing such attributes as location, device and behavior anomalies. The telco also deployed digital identity intelligence in the second stage of the application process, using risk-based scoring to supplement additional credit verification checks. The holistic approach to detecting potentially fraudulent behavior at both new account registration and at the credit agreement, enables the telco company to detect and block potentially fraudulent behavior before a new contract is issued. The telco further leveraged LexisNexis Risk Solutions to pinpoint fraudsters using stolen credit credentials and block fraudulent payments. Once again tapping into crowdsourced intelligence from the LexisNexis Digital Identity Network, the telco company was able to identify and block payment methods associated with prior fraudulent activity, in one instance blocking a potential fraudster using multiple credit card credentials from one device. In addition, the ThreatMetrix solution was also integrated into the login page for user accounts across the telecommunication company. Good users could therefore be rated as trusted; not only does this reduce friction during the login process and protect against account takeover attacks, it also has the potential to streamline the application process for any future mobile phone contracts. The operator benefited from working collaboratively with LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, feeding back fraud data which was then immediately used to improve scores and risk assessment of transactions. By working together, fraud rejection rates were improved significantly, with referrals and false positives also reduced. In addition, the telco company was able to leverage historic data collected from transactions to see trends; new account IDs older than 60+ days from creation were found to have a low fraud rate, while pre-paid cards making initial payments were found to have a high fraud rate. These trends were used for rules optimization, further enhancing the scoring and assessment of transactions.

• The telco company was able to accurately identify high-risk and unusual behavior at new account registration, leveraging digital identity intelligence from LexisNexis® ThreatMetrix®.
• The holistic approach to detecting potentially fraudulent behavior at both new account registration and at the credit agreement enabled the telco company to detect and block potentially fraudulent behavior before a new contract is issued.
• The telco further leveraged LexisNexis Risk Solutions to pinpoint fraudsters using stolen credit credentials and block fraudulent payments, identifying and blocking payment methods associated with prior fraudulent activity.
• The ThreatMetrix solution was integrated into the login page for user accounts, allowing good users to be rated as trusted, reducing friction during the login process and protecting against account takeover attacks.
• The operator benefited from working collaboratively with LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, feeding back fraud data to improve scores and risk assessment of transactions, and leveraging historic data to see trends for rules optimization.

• Fraud rejection rates were improved significantly.
• Referrals and false positives were reduced.
• New account IDs older than 60+ days from creation were found to have a low fraud rate.
• Pre-paid cards making initial payments were found to have a high fraud rate.