Insights • Blogs/Articles
Twitter have announced that they are testing phone number verification as a means to verify that the mobile number assigned to a Twitter account is a genuine number, and that the device associated with that number is in the possession of the correct end user.
If this new feature is launched by Twitter, then millions of accounts could have the phone number verification label or ‘badge’ added to their accounts.
Why are Twitter doing this?
Adoption and usage of mobile number as the means to sign up for services across all business sectors continues to grow year-on-year, and as such, the need for businesses such as Twitter to verify ownership and possession of a mobile device becomes ever more critical to provide a secure user experience and maintain high-levels of confidence in their brand.
Increasing numbers of businesses are seeing fake mobile numbers being used during the sign-up process. Ineffective phone number verification at this stage can lead to fraudsters, bots or “catfish” accounts accessing services, creating fraudulent transactions, damaging business reputation and brand and ultimately customer trust and loyalty.
Twitter said the new feature was part of a larger effort to “maintain the authenticity of the conversation on the platform by offering individuals more options to identify and express themselves on Twitter and in their accounts.”
How can Twitter verify a mobile number?
There are various reasons for why businesses such as Twitter will want to add mobile number verification into their customer flow.
The key checks that they need to make are to verify the ownership of the mobile number (to confirm the identity of the person who actually owns it) and then to confirm that the individual is in possession of the mobile number during a transaction. They will add one, or ideally both, checks into their flow.
Sekura Mobile Intelligence offers real-time services that utilise mobile operator data to confirm both ownership and possession of a mobile number from a single source of truth: we take trusted data direct from the user’s mobile operator.
Products such as SIM Swap & SMS OTP can be combined with Mobile to Person matching services to enable strong validation of user possession (by checking that the user has their device prior to the authentication SMS being sent), or alternatively Sekura offer a mobile authentication standalone product (SAFr Auth) that delivers a secure, friction free alternative.
Having access to a fully verified data set from the outset gives organisations greater levels of confidence in their users, and the ability to offer their customers an enhanced user experience.
With coverage across 5 continents, Sekura Mobile Intelligence is the leading global provider of mobile data, providing trusted, secure and easy-to-consume solutions for ID verification, anti-fraud and secure online authentication use cases.
Sekura works with established KYC, identity verification and risk data providers who have already integrated into leading global brands with demand for mobile identity solutions.
Through the integration of real-time mobile data into our partners existing services, we enable them to extend and enhance their customer offerings into new services, use cases and geographies through adoption of SAFr, our single standards-based, mobile intelligence API.
To offer your customers the opportunity to benefit from our global mobile identity solutions, contact the Sekura team today.
