Stopping SIM Swap Fraud Before It Starts

SIM Swap Fraud: A Growing Threat for Businesses

In today’s hyper-connected world, mobile numbers have become more than just a way to make calls - they are a critical component of identity verification. From banking transactions to account recovery, SMS based authentication is everywhere. But this convenience comes with a hidden risk: SIM swap fraud.

For enterprise, government agencies and businesses of all sizes, the impact can be severe. When an attacker defrauds a user to perform a SIM swap, they gain control of a victim’s phone number. This means they can intercept one time passwords (OTPs), reset credentials, and access sensitive accounts. Financial institutions, e-commerce platforms, and digital identity providers are particularly vulnerable. Beyond immediate fraud losses, SIM swap attacks can trigger cascading effects: increased support costs, weakened trust, and reputational harm that impacts growth. Traditional fraud checks can often fall short when they depend on outdated processes or user actions, leaving organizations vulnerable to more advanced threats.

What’s at stake:

Enterprises face multiple risks when SIM swap attacks occur:

• High risk transactions: Fraudsters exploit SIM swaps to bypass SMS OTP security during critical transactions.
• Customer experience: Victims face account lockouts and service disruptions, driving up support costs and frustration.
• Reputational risk: A compromised authentication flow can undermine trust in your brand and lead to long term damage.
• Operational inefficiency: Fraud-related incidents increase helpdesk tickets and drain resources.

Turning Network Intelligence into Fraud Prevention: Telstra SIM Swap API

Telstra has introduced SIM Swap API, a network-level fraud prevention tool designed to detect recent SIM card changes in real time, without disrupting the user experience. By leveraging Telstra’s mobile infrastructure, businesses can configure their risk tools and integrate Telstra’s SIM Swap API to detect SIM swaps and flag high risk scenarios before fraud occurs.

Key Benefits:

• Proactive fraud protection: Identify SIM changes that may indicate fraudulent activity.
• Frictionless integration: Operates behind the scenes, ensuring a seamless customer journey.
• Real time insights: Uses Telstra’s trusted network intelligence for near real time identification.
• Scalable and secure: Built for high volume, mission-critical applications.

Available via the Telstra Developer Portal, SIM Swap API empowers businesses to strengthen authentication flows, protect customer accounts, and reduce fraud-related losses, while still maintaining compliance and privacy standards.

Currently available for distributors and aggregators, coming soon for eligible Telstra Enterprise customers. During the initial release, the API can only verify mobile numbers connected to Telstra’s network.
 

To find out more visit Telstra SIM Swap API