Netcraft unveiled a new solution to help protect organizations’ customers from scam texts and phone calls that impersonate their brand. Netcraft’s Phone Scam Disruption automates the detection and takedown of fraudulent phone numbers used in impersonation scam campaigns, shutting down threats before they spread. Netcraft’s approach has resulted in a 99.8% success rate across more than 50,000 takedowns with several pilot customers.
A common tactic involves threat actors repeatedly posting fake customer service phone numbers online to lure victims into smishing (SMS, iMessage, and RCS phishing) and vishing (voice call phishing) conversations. This allows them to impersonate legitimate organizations and steal customers’ sensitive information, such as account credentials. These bad actors trick victims into revealing private financial information, allowing access to login credentials or giving the scammers money.
Netcraft’s automated takedown solution stops fraudulent phone numbers and their associated accounts. It detects and takes down call-to-action or callback numbers used in emails, text messages, iMessage, and RCS, preventing fraud, defending customers’ brands, and reducing manual work.
Phone Scam Disruption provides:
- Faster remediation – Industry-leading median takedown time of just 21 hours, as a result of strong relationships with global carriers, U.S. toll-free providers and advanced automation.
- Global impact – Netcraft solutions work around the clock, worldwide, to disrupt scams using malicious phone numbers.
- Scalable detection and protection – via early customer implementations, Netcraft Phone Scams Disruption has already taken down more than 50,000 malicious phone numbers with a 99.8% success rate. With this new solution, suspicious phone numbers, URLs, and QR codes embedded in scam evidence are identified automatically, classified, and disrupted.
- Lower risk and costs – According to the FCC, last year the median loss from a scam phone call was $1,480. Phone Scam Disruption prevents fraud losses and reduces manual investigation time.
- Customer-first defense – Netcraft gives organizations’ customers protection from scams while also helping maintain our customers’ brand reputation and trust.
“From banks and retailers to the world’s largest tech brands, phone scams are one of the most prolific and damaging forms of brand impersonation. Every day, consumers are bombarded by calls and texts that mimic trusted companies, and with the rise of AI and Phishing-as-a-Service, these attacks are becoming faster, smarter, and harder to detect. We built a solution that not only stops the threat, but also lightens the load for security teams. With automated detection and rapid takedowns, we’re disrupting phone-based fraud with speed and precision before it reaches the public,” said Ryan Woodley, CEO, Netcraft.
