Turning exposure into empowerment

Given the broad exposure of credentials, telecom providers must accept a new reality: Most customers are vulnerable to downstream fraud — whether or not the breach occurred within the telecom’s ecosystem. While fraud isn’t inevitable, ideas about the telecom’s role in customer protection must evolve.

Through proactive fraud prevention strategies, providers can meaningfully shield customers from the effects of compromised identities. This strengthens the provider’s competitive positioning by building trust, which deepens customer relationships.

Proactive protection is also a fraud containment strategy. By recognizing the downstream risks of breached credentials, telecoms better prevent further attacks and limit the cascading damage that often follows successful ATO attacks.

What does proactive protection look like? A multipronged approach is best, particularly when it includes:

Credit and identity monitoring. Engaging customers in actively monitoring their credit accounts and personal data helps them spot warning signs of fraudulent activity across financial and digital channels, not just their telecom accounts. Rather than waiting for fraud to surface, continuous, tech-enabled threat surveillance becomes an inherent tool. These services watch dark web marketplaces, public records, and other breach-related datasets for signs that a customer’s personal data — such as Social Security number, medical ID, or financial credentials — is being traded or potentially misused.

Timely, actionable alerts. Alerts notify customers when their personal information may be at risk. The timeliness of the information enables them to take corrective action while there’s still time to reduce damage. Such mitigation can include freezing credit, changing passwords, or warning their telecom provider or financial institution before an account takeover or fraudulent transaction occurs. For these alerts to be effective, they must be clear and actionable. The information presented to customers should be easy to understand, with guidance about the steps they need to take. This empowers customers to act quickly and decisively — making them active partners in the telecom’s fraud prevention efforts.

Access to skilled resolution support. Despite the best efforts of organizations and customers, fraud still can—and will—occur. In such high-stress situations, customers benefit tremendously from having access to experienced fraud resolution specialists. Untangling fraud and identity theft can be complicated and time-consuming. Navigating the recovery alone can feel overwhelming. Connecting customers to trained specialists who can guide them through mitigation steps alleviates stress and improves their ability to recover. In addition to protecting the customer, it can also safeguard the brand relationship.

Shared model of defense

Telecoms providers are more than service providers; they’re also expected to be protectors of digital identities. Their fraud strategies must evolve into more proactive customer partnerships to succeed in this role.

Most modern fraud is successful not because cybersecurity systems are weak but because cybercriminals exploit the human element so effectively. Better supporting customers and empowering them with proactive protection is one of the best defenses a telecom can invest in. By engaging customers as partners in their data security, telecom providers can improve outcomes from the front line to the bottom line.