Insights

FTC Reports Significant Rise in Fraud for 2021 – How Can You Protect Yourself and Your Customers?

Mar 02, 2022

Possibly the only thing scarier than that statistic is the fact that it’s 70% higher than the amount of monetary losses reported in 2020. For better or worse, unfortunately, consumers continue to be the victim when fraudsters, imposters and scammers strike.

Whether you’re a phone number carrier or an enterprise, one of the easiest ways you can help protect consumers from fraud is to safeguard your trusted numbering assets. At Somos, building trust underpins everything we do and every decision we make – which is why we have developed a range of solutions that can be leveraged to help preserve trust, promote confidence and deliver value in an increasingly interconnected world. 

Learn more about the different resources Somos offers to help support the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in its mission to promote competition, stop deceptive and unfair business practices and scams and educate consumers:

RealNumber® DNO

As the saying goes – time is money. And with RealNumber® Do Not Originate (DNO), you can rest assured that your time won’t be wasted on directing fraudulent traffic on your network and your money wasted on costly Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) fines.

With a robust database of over 4 billion Toll-Free and 10-digit local numbers, RealNumber® DNO makes it easy for you to cross-check that calls on your network are coming from legitimate numbers and not fraudulent, illegally spoofed numbers. 

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RealNumber® RTU

At a time when trust is at a premium and confidence is paramount, it’s imperative that calls are properly vetted, and that a caller’s identification is authenticated. RealNumber® Right to Use (RTU) is a valuable tool that not only can help validate a number’s right to use; it can also increase confidence and trust in the calling number. 

From helping to achieve A-level Attestation on outbound calls to supporting STIR/SHAKEN compliance, RealNumber RTU can help ensure that user’s outbound calls make it to their intended recipient.

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Reassigned Numbers Database (RND) 

Established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and developed by Somos, the RND system securely houses all permanently disconnected U.S. geographic and Toll-Free Numbers as well as the date of the most recent permanent disconnection of the numbers. With data that is populated directly by Service Providers, the RND offers a comprehensive resource for identifying permanently disconnected numbers

Similarly, at a time when TCPA fines and penalties are costly – both from a financial AND reputation standpoint – the RND empowers users to maintain compliance with regulatory requirements and avoid both TCPA and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) liabilities. 

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To learn more about the FTC’s 2021 Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book (Sentinel Data Book) – an online resource that provides aggregated information about what consumers shared on a full range of fraud, identity theft and other consumer protection topics – please visit:

https://www.ftc.gov/reports/consumer-sentinel-network-data-book-2021