As mobile-enabled scams continue to surge, Jersey Telecom (JT) and global analytics software leader FICO, with support of the world’s largest mobile industry association, GSMA, are working together to accelerate the rollout of Scam Signal – an award-winning fraud prevention solution already delivering results for UK banks. First deployed in 2024, Scam Signal uses real-time telephony data to detect and stop scams as they happen and help to protect consumers from significant financial loss.

The organisations are now urging mobile network operators in South Africa to act swiftly and adopt the solution to help stem the rising tide of fraud. One operator has already enabled the solution through the API interface, and banks have begun testing the solution.

This type of fraud is insidious. According to reports from the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), scams have cost the global economy over $1 trillion in 2024 and APP fraud is considered the number one global threat. The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) reported that digital banking fraud grew 74% to R1.888 billion in 2024 and the 2024 FICO survey found that 43% of South African respondents had reported scam-related losses.

Delivered through the FICO® Platform, Scam Signal draws on real-time signals from mobile and landline networks to identify suspicious activity. When a threat is detected, FICO® Platform Omni-Channel Engagement Capability enables banks to intervene during the live transaction by engaging with the customer with personalized messages that help stop the fraud in its tracks. Importantly, the solution maintains a direct connection with the banks to enable any other additional action to protect their customers from harm.

In the UK, banks using Scam Signal experienced a:

• 41% reduction in the number of people scammed
• 44% decrease in fraud losses
• 55% reduction in false positives (payments flagged as fraud that are in fact genuine)

“APP fraud is costing billions globally and eroding consumer trust with 25% of victims leaving their bank following a fraud incident, according to a recent Juniper Research report,” said Henry Howe, head of Product Development for Mobile Intelligence at JT. “We developed Scam Signal to help telcos turn network intelligence into real-time protection. It’s already proven to reduce scam losses and false positives, but its impact depends on industry-wide adoption.”

APIs such as those provided under the GSMA Open Gateway initiative allow financial institutions to securely access mobile network data in real time within a compliant framework. The Scam Signal API can analyse telephony events such as impersonation calls that often precede fraudulent payment requests. By standardising these APIs across operators, the industry ensures interoperability, scalability, and faster deployment of fraud prevention tools across multiple telecoms networks and financial institutions. 

The GSMA will support the initiative by running a program to unite mobile operators with the financial services industry and help its members design, build and launch standardised fraud-related APIs. This will help facilitate universal adoption of the APIs and consistent protection for consumers. 

“In order to protect as many consumers as possible in as many markets as possible, we need mobile network operators to support banks and enable the appropriate APIs,” said Paresh Modi, senior director, GSMA Fusion. “This is another opportunity for telcos to play a direct role in stopping financial crime, protect consumers, and comply with emerging regulatory expectations.”

“Combatting fraud is a shared responsibility,” said Scott Taylor, principal consultant, FICO. “Cross-industry collaboration is paramount and major network operators together with banks need to act as innovators at a time when criminals are exploiting new technologies like AI. By fostering partnerships between major operators and banks, we can effectively combat scams and secure customer trust in South Africa.” 

In its first full year since launching in 2024, the Scam Signal solution has won the Best Anti-Fraud Solution award at the Credit & Collections Technology Awards and received the Silver Medal in the Fraud Impact Award for Best Scam and APP (Authorized Push Payment) Fraud Prevention solution from Datos Insights in 2024 and 2025. Barclays and FICO also won a 2025 Credit Award for Excellence in Fraud Prevention based on the bank’s deployment of the solution through FICO® Platform - Omni-Channel Engagement Capability.