XConnect & GSE team up to curb multi-service scams

XConnect has partnered with the Global Signal Exchange to tackle multi-service scams, combining telecom and internet fraud signals.

The partnership is aimed at public agencies, enterprises, digital platforms, financial institutions and brands seeking earlier warning of scam activity that moves across multiple services.

XConnect will contribute telecom and phone number intelligence from its own data and that of parent company Somos. The Global Signal Exchange, or GSE, will add internet-layer fraud intelligence, including signals linked to IP addresses, URLs and cross-platform risk, along with secure data-sharing infrastructure.

By combining those sources, organisations should gain a broader view of scam campaigns spanning spoofed numbers, text messages, fake domains, online accounts, marketplace listings and payment journeys.

The tie-up reflects a wider push in the fraud sector to close information gaps between telecommunications networks, online platforms and payment systems. Criminal groups often exploit those gaps by shifting activity across channels faster than individual organisations can detect a pattern.

Europol has identified caller ID spoofing as a driver of financial fraud and social engineering scams, with estimated worldwide losses of EUR 850 million a year. It has also said phone calls and text messages account for about 64% of reported cases.

In the UK, industry and government have sought stronger co-operation through the Telecommunications Fraud Sector Charter, which supports broader data sharing and greater use of fraud-prevention application programming interfaces.

Shared signals

GSE describes itself as a global cross-sector clearing house for threat signals. The UK-based non-profit is owned by Oxford Information Labs and was co-founded with Google.

The organisation was launched to give participants real-time insight into the supply chains behind scams, fraud and other forms of cybercrime. Its model pools signals from multiple sources to make malicious infrastructure and behaviour easier to detect.

XConnect, owned by Somos, focuses on phone number intelligence and network-based identity data services. It works with carriers, banks, platforms and enterprises, and says it processes information from hundreds of global datasets to support routing, validation and fraud-related use cases.

It also offers network application programming interfaces for checks such as SIM swap detection, call forwarding status, number verification and know-your-customer matching.

Fraud patterns

Eli Katz, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of XConnect, said the partnership is designed to give organisations a better chance of identifying linked scam activity before losses escalate.

"Scammers exploit the gaps between services. A single scam may involve a spoofed number, a text message, a fake domain, an online account, a marketplace listing and a payment journey. Collaboration is the only way we close those gaps. By bringing trusted telecom intelligence into the wider fraud-intelligence ecosystem, we can help public agencies, enterprises, platforms and global brands see patterns earlier, act faster and protect people more effectively," Katz said.

The partnership also emphasises how data is exchanged. The approach is intended to support lawful, purpose-limited, privacy-preserving and auditable sharing of fraud signals, with a focus on prevention, detection, disruption and victim protection.

That matters because privacy, security and commercial sensitivity have often limited organisations' willingness to share operational fraud data, even when scams affect several sectors at once. A governed exchange model is intended to make co-operation easier without requiring unrestricted access to underlying information.

Lucien Taylor, Co-Founder of the Global Signal Exchange, said XConnect's arrival broadens the project's reach into telecom intelligence.

"We warmly welcome XConnect to the Global Signal Exchange and we are excited by the significant contribution they will make in helping us all to change the narrative on crime, fraud and online abuse. The level of global support for the Global Signal Exchange signifies a step-change in the fight against online crime. Scammers work together, they share and they move quickly, which means the days are long gone when individual brands can tackle online crime alone. The Global Signal Exchange marks a new chapter in the collective fightback against online crime, as we facilitate a new culture of co-operation and data sharing, and our partnership with XConnect is an important step in this journey," Taylor said.

The agreement underlines how anti-fraud efforts are moving from siloed detection towards broader signal-sharing arrangements that link telecom, internet and platform intelligence into a single view of criminal activity.