Insights

Announcing the Recipients of the 2021 Somos Fraud Fighter Award – Justin Bell from Invoca, Terry Powell from Lumen and Adam Panagia from AT&T!

Oct 06, 2021

Traffic pumping and fraud are very real problems that continue to blight the telecommunications industry. From flooding Toll-Free Numbers with traffic pumping robocalls in order to maximize (shared) generated revenue to imposter and phishing scams, these illegal activities not only aim to defraud innocent and vulnerable consumers, they also, as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) put it, are causing “increasing arbitrage and fraud.”

One of the main reasons traffic pumping and fraud are abound is that while identifying fraudulent activity is hard; working to stop it can be extremely difficult. Specifically, traffic pumpers can – and will – hide their origination points through multiple hops and carriers, thus making call tracing to the originator arduous and complicated. 

At a time when trust in telephony is itself evasive, what can be done to restore trust and maintain the integrity of our valued phone number assets?

The Toll-Free Traffic Pumping Traceback Group is a cooperative, voluntary group that traces Toll-Free traffic pumping back to its origination point. Comprised of Responsible Organizations (Resp Orgs) and carriers, the group is deeply invested in advancing the traceback process, curbing traffic pumping activities, making it more difficult for traffic pumpers to operate and partnering with law enforcement and agency representatives to stop the bad guys. 

Today, we are honored to recognize the tri-chairs of the Toll-Free Traffic Pumping Traceback Group and their momentous contributions towards protecting the integrity of Toll-Free. It is with great excitement that we announce these prestigious fraud fighters as the recipients of the 2021 Somos Fraud Fighter Award!

Chosen for their exceptional work towards mitigating and eliminating fraudulent activities and scams within the Toll-Free industry, each of this year’s award recipients have demonstrated true leadership, dedication and consumer advocacy. From preventing international revenue share fraud to halting sim card cloning to shutting down robocallers and more, these three fraud fighters are ambassadors that are leading the charge to help slow or stop telecom fraud on multiple fronts. 

Please join us in thanking the tri-chairs of the Toll-Free Traffic Pumping Traceback Group – Justin Bell from Invoca, Terry Powell from Lumen and Adam Panagia from AT&T – for their continued service to our industry and commitment to restoring trust in telephony and ensuring customer confidence in phone calls.