Geographic Discrepancy Detection

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In the ongoing battle against digital fraud, businesses are continuously seeking new layers of defense to protect their systems and customers. While sophisticated authentication methods are critical, even seemingly simple elements like the "phone number country code" can serve as a valuable initial layer in fraud prevention. By analyzing the country code associated with a phone number, businesses can gain insights that help identify suspicious activity, mitigate risks, and enhance overall security.

Here's how the "phone number country code" acts as a layer in fraud prevention:


Scenario: A user attempts to create an account or initiate dataset a high-value transaction from an IP address in one country (e.g., USA), but the provided phone number has a "phone number country code" from a vastly different and potentially high-risk region (e.g., a country known for online fraud).
Fraud Indicator: This mismatch can be a strong indicator of fraudulent activity, suggesting the use of a VPN, proxy, or a stolen identity/number. It flags the transaction for additional verification or blocking.
Identifying High-Risk Geographies:

Scenario: Certain countries or regions may have a statistically higher incidence of specific types of online fraud (e.g., phishing, account takeovers, fake registrations).
Fraud Indicator: By analyzing the "phone number country code" during onboarding or transactional processes, businesses can assign a higher risk score to numbers originating from these regions, triggering more stringent identity verification procedures or limiting certain functionalities.
Detecting Virtual/Disposable Numbers:

Scenario: While a carrier lookup identifies VoIP, combining this with country code analysis can further refine risk assessment. Some virtual phone number providers specialize in certain countries, and if a number from an unexpected country code for a virtual number is presented, it might be suspicious.
Fraud Indicator: Although not directly revealed by the country code itself, pattern analysis based on observed fraud originating from specific "phone number country code" + virtual line type combinations can be powerful.