The new Fraud Indicator technology developed by Quantium Telstra in collaboration with CommBank enables intelligence about unusual mobile service usage to be shared securely to help detect identity theft. Fraud Indicator went live earlier this month and is expected to improve CommBank’s detection rate for fraudulently opened accounts by more than 25 per cent for joint CommBank and Telstra customers.

Sandy Cameron, CEO of Quantium Telstra, said: “Fraudsters show some distinctive behaviours and patterns when it comes to mobile phone usage. When this information is combined with an organisation’s own insights and analysis, Fraud Indicator becomes a powerful tool to prompt interventions, potentially disrupting fraud attempts earlier.”

“As an example, a fraudster signing up for a new bank account provides a mobile number to receive passcodes and authenticate the account. By accessing insights on how this mobile service is used – which differs from normal behaviours – CommBank can better assess the risk that this is a bad actor and potentially stop fraudulent accounts from being opened.”

The launch of Fraud Indicator follows last year’s launch of Scam Indicator, separate technology that helps detect and intercept suspected scam calls in real-time, also developed by Quantium Telstra in collaboration with CommBank. Scam Indicator technology has helped protect CBA customers from losing millions of dollars to scammers and since its initial launch has been expanded to cover landlines to help protect the most vulnerable customers.

While nationwide and cross-industry efforts to drive down the impact of fraud and scams is helping reduce the amount of scam losses reported in Australia (down 13.1 per cent from 2022 to 2023, according to the ACCC 2 ), the rate of identity theft continues to slowly rise (up to 200,000 Australians in FY23, according to the ABS 3 ). As a result, identity theft is having serious, long-term and wide-ranging consequences for Australians – from theft to damaged credit scores and emotional distress.

James Roberts, General Manager of Group Fraud at CommBank, said: “Keeping our customers’ money safe is a priority for CBA. We've reduced customer scam losses by more than 70 per cent over two years but more needs to be done, and we remain focused on continuing to help customers stay safe by improving early detection and prevention. These measures range from sharing behavioural and device-based intelligence with other banks in real-time, to collaborating across other industries – including with telcos like Telstra – to help makes Australia less attractive to scammers.

“It will take a cumulative and legislated effort across industries – including digital platforms and social media companies, telcos and banks – to combat scammers. We’re committed to continuing to innovate and work together with others to protect Australians.”

Quantium Telstra will shortly make Fraud Indicator available to additional partners, with a focus on organisations who interact with customers through digital channels and may be more vulnerable to fraud.

“Our Fraud Indicator with CommBank showed us the great potential to reduce the impact of fraud with this new technology. With increased collaboration between more Australian organisations, we could help protect many more Australians,” Sandy Cameron said.

“The commercial impact of fraud and scams on Australian enterprises is alarming, and the full cost goes well beyond the money lost – including labour, legal and recovery costs. By detecting more fraud and reducing false positives, Fraud Indicator could have a significant positive impact on the cost of doing business in Australia and play a significant role in the fight against fraud and scams”