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Articles

Why Mobile Identity is the Missing Proof of Trust

Matthew Hornsey

5 min read

Every day, we use our mobile numbers in countless ways – logging into apps, verifying purchases, receiving one-time passwords, and staying connected. It’s a constant companion, quietly linking our digital lives to our real-world identity. Yet, its power to protect us often goes unnoticed. At TMT, we see things differently. Your mobile number is more than a contact point – it’s the thread that can safeguard trust in an increasingly online world.

The Overlooked Power of Mobile Identity

For years, KYC (Know Your Customer), credit reference agencies, and ID verification services have focused on verifying personal identity on and offline. But here’s the gap: personal identity alone doesn’t tell the whole story. Fraudsters can steal data from the dark web or your recycling bin and convincingly impersonate you. The missing link? The mobile number – a living, breathing signal of trust or risk that travels with us across our digital journeys.

Imagine this: a scammer has every detail they need to mimic you. But they fail. Why? Because their mobile number doesn’t match your history. It’s now been flagged for suspicious behaviour, preventing fraud across multiple channels.

Mobile identity is dynamic. It provides real-time insights into possession, association, and trustworthiness. It signals when something is amiss – whether it’s a SIM-Swap, recycled number, or suspicious activity. A mobile number may be trustworthy one week but compromised the next. Crucially, we do this without profiling or storing personal data. Instead, we leverage real-time, anonymised signals sourced directly from mobile network operators (MNOs).

a woman holding a laptop and a phone

Everyday Moments of Trust

At TMT, we facilitate real-world outcomes – delivering trust where it matters most. Here’s how we’re able to make a difference at every touchpoint:

  • Stopping Fraud: An e-commerce platform avoids onboarding a bad actor impersonating Eirik.
  • Streamlining Finance: Jane secures her mortgage with a verified mobile number.
  • Safeguarding Kids: Aaron (aged 13) is prevented from accessing age-restricted content.
  • Age Assurance: Steve confirms he’s 18+ for a delivery.
  • Preventing Scams: Jill’s savings are protected from a fraudster’s SIM-swap attempt.
  • Secure Authentication: Ricky logs into his bank safely using silent, OTP-free, network authentication.
  • Detecting Risk: A retailer avoids wasting marketing spend on unregistered customers.
  • Stopping Repeat Offenders: A fraudster is blocked from registering the same number on multiple benefit claims.

These aren’t just transactions; they’re moments that build trust between businesses and their customers.

Why Should You Care?

For businesses, mobile identity unlocks (dare we say it) a new dimension of customer insight and security. It’s not just about verifying who someone is; it’s about understanding the evolving lifecycle of a mobile number. Whether it’s protecting against fraud, ensuring compliance, or enhancing the customer experience, mobile identity is the anchor.

For consumers, it’s peace of mind. You may not think about your mobile number often, but it quietly ensures your world stays safe, connected, and verified.

A Lifetime of Insights & Trust

At TMT, we map the lifecycle of a mobile number across three dimensions:

  1. With the known customer: Is the number consistent with past behaviours?
  2. With an unknown user: Has the number been recycled or flagged for fraud?
  3. Across customer touchpoints: How does the number interact across businesses?

This holistic approach empowers businesses to act decisively, protecting their ecosystem while respecting user privacy.

TMT Makes a Difference

From stopping fraud to streamlining customer experiences, our solutions work in real-time to safeguard trust. We’re not just providing a service; we’re enabling a new standard for security, transparency, and customer care.

Last updated on February 7, 2025

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Verify Identity

Verify offers a vast range of data intelligence around a customer’s mobile number. It helps you confirm a customer’s identity to assess the authenticity of a mobile number and identify any suspicious activity

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What Our Customers Are Saying

"Phone number verification plays a critical role in helping to detect and prevent online fraud. TMT ID’s TeleShield product provides easy access to global mobile data, enabling us to enhance the actionable results of our MaxMind minFraud® services."

MaxMind

"BTS (Business Telecommunications Services) is successfully using TMT’s Velocity and Live services to check the status of mobile numbers. This way we make sure we optimize the performance of the service offered to our customers and ensure the quality of terminating traffic to all countries.”

Business Telecommunications Services

"Working with TMT’s TeleShield service has expanded our ability to detect fraud and minimise the risk to our business. TeleShield brings peace of mind and the opportunity to stop fraud before it affects our customers’ bottom line or the service."

Six Degrees Labs

"LATRO relies on TMT’s TeleShield to provide the most up to date and reliable numbering qualification information within our fraud reporting tools, enabling us to protect our customer’s revenues and empowering them to defend themselves against fraudulent numbers."

LATRO

"TMT is a valued partner that enables us to manage our routing costs effectively. They proactively and continuously expand their operator and country coverage while delivering exceptional customer service. We can always count on them to achieve high-quality results and look forward to our continued collaboration."

Global Message Service

"TMT provides us with the most comprehensive numbering intelligence data through their fast and reliable Velocity and Live services. TMT is a trusted partner for us, their products ensure that we continue to optimise the best performance and service to our customers."

Global Voice

"TeleShield from TMT gives 42com the power to detect and target telephony fraud scams internationally, thereby protecting our company from the financial and customer experience impacts of telecommunications fraud."

Alberto Grunstein - CEO

"It has been a pleasure to work with the team at TMT. They have become an essential provider of accurate numbering data information and Number Portability services globally."

Luisa Sanchez - VP of SMS and Messaging Solutions, Identidad Technologies

"Deutsche Telekom Global Carrier uses TMT ID as one of their key suppliers for Mobile Number Portability Data services. Deutsche Telekom Global Carrier uses TMT ID’s Velocity MNP solution. This is an ultra-fast query service that optimises the routing of international voice calls and A2P messaging."

Deutsche Telekom Global Carrier

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