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Interview with CBS: Basketball fans experience scam through text messages during March Madness craze

CBS Corpus Christi’s Victoria Balderrama reports on the dangers of NCAA March Madness. Balderrama turns to a fraud mitigation expert, Chris Drake, for tips on what to watch out for as the tournament progresses. The SVP of iconectiv warns views to never download a file from a text message sent by an unknown 10-digit number, as they can infect the device with malware. As a precaution, he suggests sports fans freeze their credit and back up their phone. See the full interview here.
Mar 15, 2023
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Interview with FOX: Mobile Betting Scams: Sports betting expert shares ways to avoid scams ahead of March Madness

Fox Boston reports on the uptick in scams looking to cash in on the urgency surrounding March Madness betting. Chris Drake, SVP of iconectiv, shares his insight on the topic and warns viewers to be wary of 10-digit numbers, as they are easy to spoof. Other red flags to be on the lookout for include misspelled words, attachments/links or any request to be sent money via an untraceable method, such as cryptocurrency, gift cards or payment apps. Drake recommends that sports fans caught in a scam…
Mar 15, 2023
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Interview with FOX: March Madness scammers? How to keep yourself safe

FOX Cleveland’s Brad Hamilton seeks input from iconectiv SVP, George Cray, on how scammers are leveraging March Madness to steal personal information. Cray warns that Ohio is a hotspot for scams, as the state can now legally bet on the tournament. He suggests putting a freeze on your credit and reporting scams to the local police. See the full interview here.
Mar 14, 2023
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Interview with FOX: March Madness brings the Final Four, and scammers, to Houston

Tom Zizka of FOX Houston warns viewers that March Madness is an opportunity for fraudsters to steal fans’ personal information. Scammers will use the NCAA tournament to craft texts around ticket sales or a betting opportunity in hopes to trick receivers into sharing personal information or clicking malicious links. George Cray, VP at iconectiv, offers insight as a telecom security expert and recommends never trusting these texts with sensitive information or clicking links. Zizka explains that…
Mar 14, 2023
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Interview with CBS: “They cleared my whole bank account,” Jax woman scammed, experts now warning others about spam texts

Megan Moriarty of CBS Jacksonville shares the story of how Tesa Childs was a victim of number porting fraud. The victim shared that her bank account was emptied, and the scammer had complete access to her phone. Moiarty turns to telecom expert, George Cray, VP of iconectiv, for insight on how viewers can protect themselves. Cray explains that you can never 100% trust a text from an unknow 10-digit number and that 5-6-digit short codes are more reliable. See the whole interview here.
Mar 8, 2023
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VanillaPlus Magazine Issue 1 2023: Are we nearly there yet?

Traditionally, network service providers have charged flat-rate termination fees regardless of the call’s originating country, the network service provider and the type of connection used – mobile or fixed. While a flat-rate billing approach may have its benefits – in terms of it being a simple, clear-cut fee for the network service provider – it is not helping their financial bottom line, and here’s why. Let’s use the example of a mobile customer in Australia who calls a friend in France. With…
Feb 21, 2023
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Interview with FOX: Experts remind people to watch out for tax scams

Joshua Oculam of FOX Scranton cautions viewers of tax scams ramping up before April. iconectiv CTO, Chris Drake, provides expert insight on ways to keep viewers and their information safe. Drake explains that the IRS will contact Americans by notices in the mail, not by text or email. If a suspicious looking message is received, Drake warns to never click the link and to freeze your credit. Watch the full interview here.
Feb 17, 2023

Press Releases

Media Contact:
Sharon Oddy
Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications
+1 732 699-5130
soddy@iconectiv.com

press release

CCA Convention discusses how illegal robocalls compromise communications; iconectiv stresses need to protect the legitimate as well as block the fake

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. – September 17, 2019 – Attendees at this year’s CCA Convention will benefit from a full update on the latest developments in the battle against illegal robocalls. Glenn Reynolds, Head of Government and Industry Affairs at iconectiv, will be among several industry stakeholders to highlight policy-related issues, including the progress being made in scam and spam robocall mitigation, one of the top issues impacting carriers today and a key focus of the 116th Congress during its…
Sep 17, 2019
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iconectiv to Serve as US Policy Administrator to Mitigate Illegal Robocalls

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. – August 28, 2019 – iconectiv, the authoritative partner of the communications industry, has signed the agreement to serve as U.S. Secure Telephone Identity Policy Administrator (STI-PA) for the FCC-endorsed ATIS-SIP Forum SHAKEN (Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs) — the industry-wide solution to mitigate illegal robocalls and help consumers once again trust their calling number displayed on their caller ID. This industry-collaborative initiative…
Aug 28, 2019
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iconectiv Makes Key Contribution to ONAP Open Source to Help Accelerate Mobile Network Virtualization

BRIDGEWATER, NJ – August 27, 2019 - Published ahead of the industry’s Open Networking Summit next month in Antwerp, Belgium, the latest release of international specifications to help build future software-led mobile networks includes a key contribution from iconectiv®, a company which provides information services that help service providers operate and manage their communications networks globally. The specifications have been published by the LF Networking’s Open Network Automation…
Aug 27, 2019
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Businesses Now Authorized to Leverage Number Porting Information for Fraud Mitigation and Risk Assessment

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. – August 21, 2019 – Mobile phone numbers now rival social security and driver license numbers as the personal identifier that consumers use to register for products and services. That ubiquity makes mobile numbers an attractive and powerful tool for identity thieves, who stole $14.7 billion in 2018 from 14.4 million U.S. consumers. Now, with the introduction of PortData Validate from iconectiv, financial institutions, healthcare providers and other authorized businesses can…
Aug 21, 2019
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iconectiv successfully completes acquisition of CSF

Bridgewater, NJ -- AUGUST 20, 2019 -- iconectiv, an authoritative partner of the global communications industry, today announced the strategic acquisition of CSF. “As the industry continues to evolve and a greater emphasis is placed on digital and trusted communications, iconectiv, too, is evolving,” said Richard Jacowleff, CEO and President of iconectiv.  “The strategic acquisition of CSF will result in a stronger suite of offerings to our combined customer base, helping ensure…
Aug 20, 2019
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Rise of Anti-Spamming and Authentication Takes Center Stage at Upcoming Conference

BRIDGEWATER, NJ—iconectiv, the authoritative partner of the communications industry for more than 35 years, will speak at Twilio's Signal: Customer and Developer Conference 2019 to discuss the industry’s approach to stop illegal robocalls. With the exponential growth of illegal spam and scam calls reaching 85 billion globally in 2018, a 325% jump from 2017, consumer answer rates continue to rapidly deteriorate, creating lost revenue, diminished brand equity and customer satisfaction challenges…
Aug 5, 2019
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STI-GA Call for Certificate Authorities

WASHINGTON, DC — Implementation of STIR/SHAKEN is a critical mission in the fight against illegal robocalls and caller ID spoofing. The Secure Telephone Identity Governance Authority (STI-GA) manages the rollout of this solution and is seeking interest from organizations that would like to serve as STI Certificate Authorities (CAs). The ATIS SHAKEN specifications (ATIS100084-E) note “the STI-CA serves as the Root CA for the STI certificates used to digitally sign and verify telephone calls…
Jul 9, 2019