For over a decade, iconectiv—the world leader in number portability and ambassador for trusted communication—has played a key role in enabling number portability across Argentina. On September 20, 2022, Argentina became one of the six countries in the world that support both fixed and wireless number portability, powered by iconectiv’s Number Portability Clearinghouse solution. This expansion provides choice and convenience to consumers and businesses and drives innovation among communication providers. The addition of fixed number portability helps Argentina's regulators more efficiently manage and optimize national numbering resources.
Network Service Providers are looking for new income streams to offset shrinking voice, data revenues and margins. If they implement OBR quickly and correctly, it can be a major new source of revenue — and enable them to avoid penalties and surcharges that can be 3,000% over standard termination rates. iconectiv’s TruNumber Protect can be added to Network Service Providers’ existing rating and billing solutions to immediately and accurately determine the correct charges and surcharges.
iconectiv’s Senior Account Manager for the Local Number Portability Administrator (LNPA) team, Carolyn Knight, has joined the Communications Fraud Control Association’s (CFCA) Consumer Education Committee. This committee focuses on arming consumers with information to help protect themselves from becoming victims of communications fraud. As a committee member, Carolyn will work closely with other industry professionals to create the educational resources consumers and businesses need to safeguard against fraudsters.
Illegal robocalls not only are a complete nuisance but, when effective, can serve as a gateway for fraudulent activities. Which is why 75% of calls from unknown or unrecognizable numbers go unanswered, and also the reason why the Federal Communications Commission enacted the SHAKEN/STIR framework mandate for communications service providers (CSPs) across the U.S.
Nearly 70% of consumer brand interactions shifted to messaging during the pandemic – a trend that is expected to continue as nearly 65% of the global population send and receive SMS messages, including 80% of the population in North America. As both businesses and consumers continue to lean into messaging, there are several options for them to consider - from short codes and 10-digit long codes (10DLC) to toll-free numbers, rich communications services and more.
iconectiv’s senior numbering expert Natalie McNamer has been elected co-chair of the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) Industry Numbering Committee (INC) by committee members for a two-year term. McNamer will oversee key initiatives associated with the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) numbering resources. This includes efficiently allocating and conserving telephone numbers, which uses extend beyond business and consumer phones to IoT and machine-to-machine devices and more.
NBC Austin’s Sam Stark warns viewers of scams to be aware of going into the holiday shopping season. In an interview, Senior Vice President at iconectiv, George Cray, recommends that viewers look to short codes, as opposed to 10-digit phone numbers, as a sign of legitimacy. Companies must undergo a vetting process to obtain a short code, and in the event the company violates the terms, they must surrender the code. Cray also advises viewers that texts with a sense of urgency or a link are likely scams.
CBS Chattanooga’s Nick Hill reports on how fraudsters are taking advantage of the holiday shopping season through texting scams. iconectiv’s Senior Vice President, George Cray, shares expert information on how to protect against these scammers. CBS explains the concept of smishing: text messages that are designed to install spyware or steal other personal data. Cray advises viewers to beware of text messages with links and a sense of urgency. Hill describes the common situations these hackers will try to present, including verifying gift cards, falsely claiming delivery delays, or claiming they need more information to complete a delivery.
CBS Chattanooga’s TECH BYTE reports on how fraudsters are taking advantage of the election season through texting scams. iconectiv’s Senior Vice President, George Cray, shares expert information on how to protect against these scammers. Cray explains how Americans lost $86 million last election cycle from texting scams, and this year could be even worse. Money isn’t the only thing scammers are after, viewers are also warned to watch out for scammers spreading misinformation.
Steve Sbraccia of CBS Raleigh reports on how scammers are taking advantage of the election season to steal personal information. iconectiv’s Senior Vice President, George Cray, shares expert information on how to protect against these scammers. Cray advises viewers to be wary of texts with a sense of urgency and sent from 10-digit numbers. Real candidates and campaigns can undergo a vetting process to obtain a 5/6-digit number (a short code), making these numbers more trustworthy for voters.
Terrence Lee of FOX Chicago reports on the increasing amount of text scams sent out as election season gets underway. In a live interview, iconectiv’s Senior Vice President, George Cray, provides expert tips on identifying scam text messages sent from fraudsters posing as candidates or campaigns. Cray warns viewers to watch out for requests for personal data, embedded links and messages with a sense of urgency. Cray also explains that text messages from 5/6-digit numbers (short codes) are more reputable due to the vetting process candidates/campaigns undergo to obtain the code.
Kim Baldonado of NBC 4 LA reports on political text messaging fraud. She warns that scammers pose as political candidates or campaigns and use this ruse to get money and personal information from voters. In an interview, iconectiv’s Senior Vice President, George Cray, explains how consumers can protect themselves – listing red flags to watch out for. For example, Cray warns that text messages sent from an unknown 10-digit number asking for personal information are likely from fraudsters.
In this post, CFCA encourages their members to identify themselves as a trusted communications superhero. Learn how the Fraud Fighters and Identification Verifiers can protect consumers’ money and identity with the help of iconectiv’s tools TruNumber Protect, PortData Validate, TruReach Certify and TruReach Intel.
Hosted by Cloud Communications Alliance, the CCA Financial Summit is a two-day event being held on September 26-27 in New York City to discuss topics such as how to prepare for where the economy is heading. iconectiv will be in attendance with other industry leaders.
iconectiv’s Senior Director, John Hayes, will be in attendance September 20-21, 2023, at Connected Britain. Organized by Total Telecom, learn about the future of the UK’s connectivity for businesses and communities from industry experts in London.
Visit iconectiv’s Bob Grant, Director of Product Management, and Chris Drake, SVP of Corporate and Business Development, at SIPNOC 2023 in Herndon, VA. They will both be speaking in the “Cross Border Call Authentication,” and Numeracle’s, “The Future of End to End Branded Calling Using Authentication,” sessions on September 12-13.
Stop by iconectiv’s VP of Information Solutions, Don Holloway’s session, “How Regulatory Agencies Are Responding to the Changing Landscape,” at MEF CONNECTS: The Future of Fraud Prevention on September 5, 2023, at 12:05 p.m. to learn more about the evolution of fraud.
CONECTA LATAM's Telco Transformation LATAM conference, held on August 29-30 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will bring together industry experts to discuss the impact of 5G and AI. iconectiv’s Angelica Ford, Senior Account Director, and Alberto Apablaza, Director of Account Manager, will be in attendance.
Hosted by MEF and the Canadian Telecommunications Association, the MEF Leadership Forum is being held on July 18 in Toronto, Canada. Matt Lear, iconectiv’s Senior Director of Product Management, will be in attendance to discuss the latest text messaging trends and technologies.
Hosted by NARUC, the NARUC Summer Policy Summit is a four-day event being held on July 16-19 in Austin, Texas. Connie Hartman, Director of Product Management at iconectiv, and other leading voices will be attending to discuss best practices and crucial issues within the industry.