Building a Trusted Model for Caller Authentication: TMT ID, GSMA, Telefónica Tech and Dock Labs

Call centres remain a vital touchpoint between service providers and their customers, but verifying who’s on the other end of the line is complex. Traditional authentication methods, like security questions or OTPs, are slow, expose sensitive information, and are vulnerable to fraud tactics such as SIM swaps, phishing, and spoofed numbers.

To address this, GSMA, Telefónica Tech, Dock Labs, and TMT ID have joined forces to develop a new, privacy-preserving model for caller authentication, one that is faster, secure, and user-friendly.

The challenge: verifying trust without compromising privacy

Current verification processes typically take 30 to 90 seconds and often rely on customers revealing personal details to agents. That not only impacts efficiency but also increases the risk of data exposure and human error.

The Proof of Concept (PoC) explores how trusted digital identity and mobile network intelligence can replace outdated verification steps with an instant, privacy-preserving experience, creating a model that’s both secure by design and easy to use.

The solution: a digital token of trust

The collaboration introduces a mobile ID wallet as the secure channel for verifying callers. When a customer contacts a call centre, the agent triggers an authentication request directly from their console. The customer receives a push notification in their wallet app asking:

“Are you currently speaking with our customer support team?”

After confirming through biometrics and a single tap, the customer’s identity is instantly verified, without revealing personal information or using one-time passwords.

This is powered by a digital certificate of trust, created and managed collaboratively between the partners:

• Dock Labs provides the wallet technology and manages the digital certificate.
• Telefónica Tech imprints the token of trust, linking it cryptographically to the customer’s phone number.
• TMT ID provides the security foundation beneath the token, validating the certificate and continuously verifying the live integrity of the number during the call.

TMT’s role: the network of trust

TMT ID serves as the network of trust that underpins the entire authentication process.

Our role is to ensure that the token of trust, and the identity it represents, is continuously protected and verifiable through direct network intelligence.

When a customer calls a service provider, TMT ID authenticates the call in session and confirms that:

• The phone number and SIM pairing are intact.
• There are no signs of suspicious activity such as SIM swap or spoofing.
• The identity token remains cryptographically valid and trusted.

In essence, we wrap the digital certificate in a layer of real-time network assurance, combining mobile identity, number verification, and fraud intelligence to preserve integrity at every step.

This live verification ensures that the digital token, issued by Telefónica Tech and managed by Dock Labs, remains trustworthy throughout the call, creating a fully authenticated and privacy-protected experience for both the caller and the agent.

A step towards trusted digital engagement

This initiative demonstrates how mobile identity, verifiable credentials, and network intelligence can transform customer authentication. It shows that call centres can achieve stronger security, faster verification, and greater privacy, all at once.

By combining a user-held identity wallet, carrier-verified tokens, and network-level assurance, the collaboration lays the groundwork for a new, trusted model of customer engagement.

Results and insights from the Proof of Concept will be published in a forthcoming report, highlighting how this framework could extend to other sectors where secure, privacy-preserving authentication is critical.

About TMT ID

TMT ID is a GSMA Open Gateway member and a global expert in Mobile Number Intelligence™, helping businesses strengthen identity verification, authentication, and fraud prevention through secure access to mobile network data.

Our solutions provide the trusted intelligence that powers secure online experiences, verifying numbers, detecting fraud, and validating trust in real time.

Read the GSMA’s article on our collaboration.