Press Releases

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

press release

How Can We Safeguard the Booming Global Mobile Money Market from Fraudsters?

More consumers than ever before are turning to their mobile devices to conduct banking transactions via SMS and Rich Communications Services (RCS). In fact, the Global Mobile Money Market size was valued at USD 4.24 Billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 31.88 Billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 28.67% from 2021 to 2028. But, while the opportunity for the booming mobile money market is great, it does not come without challenge – specifically around the mobile wallet itself. During the CFCA Summer Education Event session, “Protecting the Mobile Wallet: Why Number Portability is Critical to Safeguarding Mobile Banking,” iconectiv’s Jonathan Herttua, Director of Information Solutions, and Carolyn Knight, Senior Account Manager for the company’s United States Local Number Portability (LNPA) team will examine how number portability data can be used in a new way to help keep mobile money safe for customers and banks.
May 24, 2022
press release

How Can Telecom Operators Grow Their Businesses While Mitigating Risk?

Service providers are under significant pressure to sustain revenue growth and profitability while delivering new digital services. At the same time, regulations, technology disruptions, intensifying competition and changing customer demands are also placing telecom operators at a financial and operational crossroads: How can they grow their businesses while reducing cost and mitigating risk? During an upcoming webinar, “Driving Financial Decisions and Compliance with Fixed Asset Management”, iconectiv’s Eyad Alqadi, Regional Director for Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and John Hayes, Senior Director, will explore the role that FAM plays in providing critical information to drive financial decisions and ensure compliance.
May 17, 2022
press release

Toll-Free Calls to Benefit from Nation’s Robocall Mitigation Efforts

As part of its new policy, the Secure Telephony Identity Governance Authority (STI-GA) has approved iconectiv as a responsible organization (RespOrg), allowing it to verify the identity of the businesses and contact center operators authorized to use toll-free telephone numbers on our RespOrg. Industry initiatives such as STIR/SHAKEN are rebuilding consumer confidence in voice calls. As a RespOrg, iconectiv now can help verify the identity of the businesses and contact center operators authorized to use toll-free telephone numbers on our RespOrg to help ensure that their outbound calls are not mistakenly flagged as spam.
May 12, 2022
press release

With Voice and Messaging Communications, Trust is a Two-Way Street

The past few years have demonstrated just how much we depend on our mobile phones – for services, connection and convenience. As a result, digital transformation is gaining significant momentum, and identity verification is becoming more critical than ever. Businesses need to have trust in knowing who their customers are and consumers need to trust that the company that is calling or texting them is indeed who they say they are. In a recent interview with Mobile World Live, iconectiv Senior Vice President George Cray provided insights on how the industry is working to re-establish trust in the global communications ecosystem and the role that iconectiv plays in pushing digital transformation forward while ensuring service providers comply with regulations.
May 2, 2022
press release

Do You Take Calls from Numbers You Don’t Recognize? Odds Are, You Don’t

In this day and age, where so many in-person interactions have been replaced with remote engagements, digital transformation has become fundamental. As a result, businesses and consumers are relying on their mobile devices more than ever – utilizing voice and text communications to navigate their personal and professional lives. But with more than 85 billion spam phone calls being placed globally each year – costing trillions of dollars in lost business and productivity – keeping both the voice and messaging ecosystem safe for consumers and attractive to business is critical. In a recent interview with Mobile World Live, iconectiv CTO Chris Drake answered these questions, and discussed how to further build trust in communications, insights on new solutions to better identify legitimate businesses and more.
Apr 25, 2022
press release

How Service Providers are Weeding Out Illegal Robocalls, SMS Spam and Other Fraud Before It Reaches Consumers

Each year, communications service providers (CSPs) worldwide lose over US$39 billion to fraud such as illegal robocalls, SMS phishing (“smishing”) and “wangiri” callback schemes, according to the Communications Fraud Control Association (CFCA) and analyst firms. During the panel session, “Protect Your Customers from One-Ring Scams: Trusted Tools to Fight Fraud,” iconectiv telecom fraud expert David Estes will discuss how CSPs are upgrading their existing call-blocking analytics to identify calls from high-risk and unallocated number ranges and suspicious premium-rate numbers.
Apr 22, 2022
press release

iconectiv Toll-Free-Number Expert Mike Gilbert Elected ATIS SNAC Co-Chair

Years of illegal robocalls, SMS spam and fraud have undermined consumer trust in voice calls and text messages, including those from toll-free numbers. Restoring trust is critical for service providers and all the retailers, schools, healthcare providers and other organizations that depend on toll-free numbers to inform and engage consumers. As a new co-chair of the ATIS SMS/800 Number Administration Committee (SNAC), iconectiv Senior Account Director Mike Gilbert will oversee key toll-free number industry initiatives such as ensuring consumer trust in voice calls and text messaging.
Apr 21, 2022

In the news

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Interview with ABC: Experts warn to be wary of March Madness scam texts

Dominique Newland of ABC Austin warns viewers of potential scams popping up around March Madness. Newland gets commentary from cybersecurity expert Chris Drake, SVP of iconectiv. Drake highlights the fact that texts from 10-digit numbers with a link or sense of urgency are commonly scams. On the other hand, consumers must opt-in to getting text from a 5-6-digit shortcode and, these numbers have been verified and secured.
Mar 19, 2023
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Interview with CBS: What you need to know about scammers during March Madness season

CBS San Antonio’s Nicole Caan reports on the ways that scammers use March Madness to target fans. iconectiv SVP, Chris Drake, explains that scammers use fan’s excitement and urgency to get them to click a malicious link without thinking about it. Drake suggests that viewers freeze their credit and back up their phones to protect against financial fraud.
Mar 16, 2023
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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.
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 disengage and report the scam to the FTC or local police.
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.
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 another level of protection comes with messages from 5 or 6-digit numbers. Businesses have registered and undergone a vetting process to obtain these numbers, making them much more trustworthy.
Mar 14, 2023
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MWC Insights: Why Culture Matters More Than Ever

An interesting and unexpected theme emerged during the Mobile World Congress 2023 show in Barcelona last week. Beyond the typical and expected exclamations of digital transformation, 5G, everything as a service, devices, robots and virtual worlds, a new realization took center stage. Weaved into the well-scripted threads of one keynote after another was the undeniable fact that the biggest change hitting telecom is a much needed and already emerging cultural shift in how the industry thinks, acts and innovates. The alarms were rung, signaling that the telecommunications industry must innovate—or someone else will.
Mar 10, 2023

Events

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MWC Africa

With over 200 speakers, this event offers a wide range of themes that bring together a cross-section of stakeholders. GSMA looks to bring the mobile ecosystem together in Rwanda to further digital partnerships. iconectiv’s Director of Regional Sales, EMEA, Eyad Alqadi, is attending and will accept meetings.
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Cloud Comms Summit US

iconectiv’s Bob Grant, Principal Product Manager, will be participating in the Cloud Comms Summit   panel, “Service Provider Benefits and Burdens: The State of Eliminating Illegal Robocalling and Spoofing,” on October 19th, 2022, at 3:15PM ET.
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PACE ACX’22

Every year, hundreds of customer experience professionals from across the U.S. gather for this industry-leading event. The conference delivers powerful keynotes, virtual demos, networking sessions and more.
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MWC Las Vegas 22

MWC Las Vegas, in partnership with CTIA, is the GSMA’s flagship event in North America, showcasing the hottest trends in connectivity and mobile innovation. This is where the ecosystem meets face-to-face to build strong relationships. And it’s where we use our collective knowledge to accelerate technology and drive human progress. This is where the mobile ecosystem, technology industry and vertical industries affected by connectivity, come to explore the themes that are shaping our world.
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SOMOS Summit 2022

iconectiv will be joining service providers and regulators at the SOMOS Summit 2022 in Denver, CO on September 27-28, 2022. iconectiv experts will be onsite to discuss how industry players can best protect telephone numbers and provide further information on the intelligence phone numbers inherently have. To connect with iconectiv during SOMOS Summit 2022, visit the link here.
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Transform Together NYC

Twilio’s Transform Together, a live event series hosted in cities worldwide, focuses on bringing customers, partners and business leaders together to contribute insights and learn new ideas about building the future of digital engagement.
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MEF Webinar- STIR SHAKEN in North America: Lessons learnt, RoboCalls stopped?

Globally telecom users have been suffering RoboCalls, or nuisance calls. The USA and Canada have introduced call tracing capability that should help stop unwanted and fraudulent calls to reach the final consumers – what was then called STIR SHAKEN. Different levels of protection have been rolled out, but the problem seems to persist. MEF is holding a webinar to examine the lessons that have been learned from STIR SHAKEN and what the future holds for RoboCalls.