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Where there are digital transactions, there is the risk of fraud. Mobile content is no exception. Unscrupulous individuals and criminal networks use ever-evolving methods to defraud customers, mobile content providers, payment aggregators and MNOs.

It’s a mature and complex ecosystem with fraud happening at multiple layers. Some attackers target the advertising space – using technical methods to win pay outs for bogus clicks. Others target the payment channel itself and with many mobile content providers using direct carrier billing (DCB) as this hits mobile networks and their partners especially hard and the erosion of trust affects all stakeholders.

In this ongoing fight, it is essential that the entire ecosystem works together to combat fraud. All stakeholders must be aware of the fraud types, and their differing impacts. Aligning on best practice limits the risk and helps everyone to stay ahead of the fraudsters.

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This whitepaper was developed by MEF’s DCB Fraud Working Group which brings together representatives from every part of the mobile content value chain to help better educate the market.

The guide is a useful tool to help promote positive, proactive and measured anti-fraud action by MNOs and regulators in order to protect the consumer experience without hindering honest stakeholders.

At a glance

  • The ecosystem, typical payment flows and the impact of fraud on the ecosystem

  • The technical and socially engineered fraud types that target mobile content advertising and the DCB payment channel

  • Best practice recommendations across technical, commercial and regulatory solutions to combat fraud

  • A series of MNO case studies demonstrating the impact of implementing anti-fraud measures

  • Plus comprehensive technical fraud guide

DCB Working Group

Aegis Mobile

Almuqeet

Avatar World Group

Boku

BT

BTS – Business Telecommunications Services

Content For Mobile

Dharam Digital

Digital Virgo

Dynamic Mobile Billing (DMB)

Empello

Evina

First Screen

Globe Teleservices (GTS)

Golden Goose

iTouch

Kaleyra

mbe – mobile business engine GmbH

MCP Insight

Media Digital Group

Mesh Ads

mFilterIt

Mobibox

Orange Group

Perpetuum Media

Sam Media

TELECOMING

Telefonica

Telefónica Global Solutions

Telenor

telesign

TELIN

Upstream

VAS2Nets Technologies

Vodafone

Webex CPaaS Solutions

At unMWC earlier this year a group of MEF members set up a DCB Fraud Working Group with the goal to enable better education across the content, advertising and payments ecosystems. It advocates proactive anti-fraud action by MNOs and regulators globally and promotes greater self-regulation that protects the consumer experience without penalising honest stakeholders.

Now the cross-stakeholder group has published its first paper Combatting Fraud in Mobile Content. It looks at the typical payment flows, the technical and socially engineered fraud types that target mobile content advertising and the DCB payment channel and the impact of fraud on the ecosystem.

Thanks to all the members of the working group. You can read the views of some the leading contributors here and how aligning on best practice limits the risk and helps everyone to stay ahead of the fraudsters.

Joanne LaceyMEF COO
MEF