Grapevine helps safeguard against SIM swap fraud


Cape Town, 05 Mar 2019

Grapevine has launched its SIM Swap Detection service to help financial institutions and other businesses identify suspicious SIM swaps and stop fraud before it happens.

Illegal SIM swaps have become a popular method used by criminals to take over customer accounts and commit fraud. This has become especially prevalent in SA with the uptake in 'digital banking' (transacting, updating details and authentication via online portals, mobile apps and other digital channels).

According to the SA Banking Risk Information Centre, SIM swap fraud rose from 4 040 between January and August in 2017 to 8 254 over that same period in 2018. That translates to a 104% increase from January to August 2018, compared to the same period in 2017. Once these fraudulent incidents are converted to rands lost, financial institutions find themselves in a disconcerting spot.

How does Grapevine's SIM Swap Detection work?

By performing real-time checks on customers' data with Grapevine's new SIM Swap Detection service, financial institutions can seamlessly monitor their customers' SIM swaps. They can also assess the risk of fraud and decide on what actions to take next; whether it is to freeze the account and terminate the transaction, or to ask further authentication questions on alternative channels to verify the customer.

How can financial institutions benefit from SIM Swap Detection?

SIM swap fraud generally targets a weakness in two-factor authentication and two-step verification, where the second factor or step is a one-time pin (OTP) or password via SMS or a call placed to a mobile telephone. By implementing SIM swap checks on all services that generate OTPs as an extra measure to authorise transactions, companies can greatly reduce the risk of SIM swap fraud, preventing reputational damage and loss of time and money.

Why choose Grapevine?

The advantage of choosing Grapevine's service is, first of all, fast integration. With our simple API, you can easily integrate SIM Swap Detection into your business systems and work flows. Secondly, we guarantee better insight and customer satisfaction because you will be able to utilise customer data generated by mobile networks to protect your customers against fraud. Thirdly, by choosing Grapevine, you don't need to invest in costly on-premises infrastructure as our service is cloud-based.

Get started!

Help safeguard your customers and your business against SIM swap fraud. Contact Grapevine today to find out more about our security and compliance technology and solutions. Tel: (+27) 21 702 3333; e-mail: info@vine.co.za.

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Editorial contacts

San-Marie Smith
Grapevine Group
(+27) 21 702 3333
san-marie.smith@vine.co.za