Tech support: How telcos can win the fight against fraud

17 November 2025: As the Office for National Statistics (ONS) outlines, fraud incidents were up 14% in the year ending June 2024 when compared to the previous 12 months.

Consumer and retail fraud, more specifically, has risen by 73% since records began in 2017. In fact, the UK Government notes that cybercrime and fraud now make up almost half of all crime against individuals in England and Wales.

While these stats may paint a clear picture, each individual victim has a unique story to tell, while the impact of fraud can be far reaching and varied. Many victims, for instance, do not only suffer financially, but emotionally too.

Which is why the Government announcing its second Telecommunications Fraud Charter – with a new fraud strategy to launch next year – is such an important moment.

This charter not only appeals for greater collaboration across law enforcement and industry but also urges tech and telco companies to go “further and faster” in tackling the nation’s fraud, signalling a clear intent to protect others from experiencing the many negative impacts of fraud.

And not a minute too soon. Because, from SIM farms to SIM swaps, AI-powered scams and advanced social engineering, today’s bad actors have more tools at their disposal than ever before.

Fortunately, so do we.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

While criminals are using AI to take a more sophisticated approach to fraud, whether through deep faking or voice cloning, these same technologies are helping companies like ours to fight back.

For one, it allows us to analyse vast amounts of data, from both local and international calls, at speed. We do this by using machine learning (ML) algorithms within our fraud management system to identify patterns, relationships and anomalies.

Because of the vast datasets that we’re talking about here, this simply isn’t a task that humans could do at anywhere near the same speed without advanced tech support.

Whereas, by using these advanced algorithms, cases of fraud are flagged more swiftly, helping us to support victims promptly and allowing our experts to focus on reviewing more complex cases.

This adoption of AI has led to a 44% increase in fraud detection rates. What’s more, as our systems become better trained, we are able to flag potential fraud and intervene in real time.

In recognition of this work, VodafoneThree has been named winner of Teradata’s ‘AI in Action’ award for deploying an AI-supported fraud detection framework to combat ‘man-in-the-middle’ attacks.

API access

Since most fraudsters share the same end goal of wanting to access a customer’s financial information, we are constantly looking for new ways to prevent this from happening.

Beyond the various capabilities we deploy throughout our own network, this involves working with financial institutions to add an additional layer of protection. Much of which revolves around our Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

An API is effectively a set of rules that enables different digital applications to communicate with each other. By sharing API access to our systems with banks, they can check whether a customer’s mobile service has been ported or switched between devices as part of a potential ‘account takeover’ fraud.

In fact, we have a whole suite of APIs that help us tackle online fraud, including Scam Signal, which allows banks to check if a customer is subject to a call with characteristics that indicate fraud is being attempted.

While, recently, some of the UK’s leading mobile network operators, led by VodafoneThree, announced the launch of Know Your Customer (KYC) Tenure APIs through the GSMA Open Gateway initiative. This particular tool helps determine if a phone number has been in use for a significant period – a strong indicator of whether a user can be trusted.

Finally VodafoneThree shares daily intel with Stop Scams UK as part of Project Trojan, which Three has historically contributed to. Passing these insights on to the banking sector can help identify and stop mule accounts from being used for fraudulent activities.

Reporting services

As the Government suggests, collaboration remains king in the fight against fraud. After all, criminal networks are increasingly spreading across borders, meaning they are often not working alone – so why should we?

We regularly team up with other telecom operators, companies from other sectors, regulators and law enforcement to improve fraud prevention measures throughout the industry, combining data and innovation to keep people and businesses safe.

For example, we are part of various anti-fraud groups and have also worked with the Home Office on the second Telecommunications Fraud Charter.

Meanwhile, the 7726 Spam Reporting Service – which UK mobile customers can submit unwanted messages or details of unwanted calls to – is shared between VodafoneThree, BT and EE and Virgin Media O2.

Vodafone, for instance, has received the fewest spam and nuisance call reports against its numbers into the 7726 service for more than 24 consecutive months.

In fact, more widely, VodafoneThree blocks 1.7 million fraudulent calls each day while, this year alone, we have blocked 118.36 million fraudulent SMS.

Answering the call

While digital technology continues to impact every part of our lives, it’s little surprise that the Government has made combatting tech-enabled fraud a key focus of its new fraud strategy.

Because, although recent technology advancements have brought great positives to the world, they also provide fertile ground for criminals.

The Government’s latest step – a European-first plan to ban SIM farms – is a strong signal of just how seriously they are taking this tech-centric approach to fraud.

After all, while fraud ultimately impacts people lives and businesses, in many cases, it also exploits connectivity and undermines trust in the digital network that the UK depends on.

To make a success of initiatives like these, however, the Government needs the support of those that design and deliver this tech to individuals and businesses throughout the UK.

And that’s exactly what VodafoneThree intends to continue doing, as we retain our own focus on preventing fraud at each step of the customer journey.