The first service will be cell phone number verification, which will be performed on an ongoing basis, ensuring stronger authentication.
Services that use mobile phone numbers and one-time passwords via SMS, such as transportation apps, food delivery apps and banks, for example, can use this constant verification as a way to become more secure. The API certifies whether a person using one of these services with an advertised phone number is actually using a cell phone with that number.
Another API will help to check whether the SIM card, the common one, has been changed. Through it, it is possible to check whether a particular phone number has recently changed its SIM card. The idea is to avoid or reduce the incidence of fraud, such as chip cloning. In practice, the financial institution can check whether the SIM card has been recently changed, which is a condition that can be taken into account when approving or rejecting the transaction.
Device location allows developers to confirm whether a smartphone is actually located in the location it claims to be. In this case, the API immediately validates the region provided by the cell phone owner, which can be useful when withdrawing money or using a credit card in an unexpected place.
“It’s a way to align networks so that all banks get this information, because their customers are on all operators, not just one,” Calvert says.
The GSMA’s Head of Networks is also calling for network information to be collected in one place. There is an intention to assist police in locating stolen cell phones.
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