Telecom fraudbecameone of the most significant threats facing global communications networks in 2025.
According to new data from the latest Communications Fraud Control Association (CFCA) Fraud Loss Survey Report, losses tied to telecommunications fraud continue to accelerate. In 2023, the CFCA reported$38.95 billionlost in telecommunications fraud to schemes such as International Revenue Share Fraud (IRSF),Wangiriattacks, smishing, and number spoofing. By 2025, global losses climbed to$41.82 billion,nearly a$3 billionincrease in just two years.
As bad actors increasingly use generative AI to enhance the realism of voice and text fraud, thesescamshave become harder to detect and more damaging to operators and their subscribers.
Leveraging findings from the CFCA Fraud Loss Report, this blog highlights key insights for service providers and other telecom ecosystem stakeholdersseekingto better understand telecom fraud tactics and strengthen their own telecom fraud detection strategies.
Telecom Fraud Prevention Tools Usage
Telcos face unique business risks as fraudsters can damage operations,revenueand customer growth as well as brand credibility. The CFCA Global Fraud Loss Survey makes plain that scammers are targeting the entire ecosystem: global mobile, fixed, wholesale and virtual network operations.
Compared to other industries, telecom providers arerelatively maturewhen it comes to fraud prevention. Operators have been actively equipping their networks with solutions to reduce telecom fraud risk and protect customers.
Key findings of the CFCA survey show:
- 100% of operators use a fraud management system, all with some degree of automation
- 97% have dedicated fraud teams focused on telecom fraud detection
- 75% nowleveragemachine learning or AI for fraud detection, up sharply from 2023 (38%)
- Five out of six operators integrate third-party tools into their telecom fraud management platforms
It is encouraging to see this level of proactive adoption throughout the telecom industry. Still, gapsremain, particularly among smaller operators that rely on legacy TDM infrastructure and have failed to migrate to IP networks. Until this challenge is addressed, telecom fraud solutions will fall short of their fullpotentialand bad actors will have openings to launch attacks.
Top FraudInTelecom Industry
Telecommunications fraud is a global issue, but high-risk regions haveemerged. Voice fraud is most active in the UK, United States and across Africa, while fraudulent SMS and smishing aremost commonly linkedto the UK,Indiaand Pakistan.
Beyond location, the type of fraud posing the greatest risk to operators is also shifting. Handset-related fraudremainsthe primary concern among telecom operators as 58% of operatorsidentifyhandset sales as a significant telecom fraud risk. However, online sales channels now surpass physical stores as the primary source of device fraud, reversing 2023 trends.
As fraud tactics diversify, thefinancial impactof the most commonscamsremainshigh. The top fraudtypesby monetary loss are:
- Subscription fraud (true or stolen identity): $5.31 billion
- First-party subscription fraud (no intent to pay): $4.89 billion
- Targeted social engineeringscams: $4.85 billion
- Account takeover: $4.73 billion
- Mass phishing and smishing: $4.68 billion
These figures illustrate the scale of modern telecom fraud and reinforce the need to go beyond traditional fraud prevention solutions. Robust fraud mitigation requires effective, adaptive solutions to protect both operators and their subscribers.
AI vs. AI For Telco Fraud Prevention
The ease with which bad actors can now access and deploy sophisticated AI tools presents significant challenges for the telecom market. Using generative AI, scammers can easily mimic the ten tonal qualities of a voice,making it increasingly difficult todefend fromAI voice cloningscams.
On a more positive note, AI can be an equalizer for internal service provider teams responsible for fraud detection. Three-quarters of telecom decision makers nowleveragemachine learning or AI for fraud detection in telecom, up sharply from 2023.
ByleveragingAI-powered fraud detection tools, telcos fight bad actors at their own game. But these tools need to be intuitive and impactful: 84% of those surveyed believe they are beginnersor intermediate when it comes to AI knowledge and experiences. This is especially challenging given fraud detection teams have a full plate, as these individuals, on average, hold 2.5additionalroles beyond fraud detection.
Restoring Subscriber Trust DamagedByTelecoms Fraud
As telecomfraud riskevolves, restoring trust in voice and messaging channels is critical.
Transaction Network Services (ĢƵ)is uniquely positioned to support this mission asone ofthe industry’s leading Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) providers. Three ĢƵ solutions stand out in the fight against telco fraud:
- Enterprise Product Suite, which protects enterprise outbound communications through voice authentication, spoof protection, branded calling,and data intelligence. When enterprise clientsleveragethis technology,legitimate and verified callsare delivered totheir customers while allunverifiedcalls areimmediatelyblockedor labeled as spam.
- ĢƵCall Guardian, an advanced analytics solution that uses cross-carrier real-time call data and crowd-sourced intelligence to poweraccuratetelecom fraud detection by building reputation profiles for individual numbers.
- ĢƵ Voice Transit+,a secure platform that modernizes legacy infrastructure and strengthens STIR/SHAKEN call signing. This technologyfacilitatesgreater IP connectivity and limits bad actors’ ability to hide unwanted traffic.
With the right fraud management solutions in place, telecom operators can stay ahead of bad actors, reduce telecom fraudriskand protect the integrity of global communications.
Restore Trust to Voice
Learn more about how ĢƵ helps combat telecom fraud risk and restore trust in voice calls.