Details on Fraud Sentinel - News release
WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 2, 1997--
One Year After its Launch, Fraud Sentinel Helps 26 Carriers
Win Strategic Battles in the Subscription Fraud War
Lightbridge, Inc. (NASDAQ:LTBG), a leading provider of customer
acquisition and retention solutions for the global telecommunications
industry, today announced that its suite fraud prevention solutions
are delivering significant business gains for leading
telecommunications carriers. One year after its launch, Fraud
Sentinel(tm) has identified and prevented fraud from happening at
leading telecommunications carriers such as BellSouth Mobility DCS,
APC/Sprint, Comcast Cellular and CellOne Boston. Fraud Sentinel
users represent 26 carriers in 75 markets across all 50 states in
North America.
Subscription fraud, the use of fraudulently obtained customer
information or false identification without the intent to pay for a
service, has created a significant financial strain on the
telecommunications industry over the past several years. According
to a Yankee Group report, in 1996 subscription fraud cost
telecommunications carriers $330 million, or $904,000 each day.
Losses for 1997 are expected to far exceed that number.
By enabling its participating carriers to catch fraudulent
activity before it happens, Fraud Sentinel can provide enormous
savings to the carriers' bottom lines. Specifically, Lightbridge has
helped its customer carriers identify 6.74% of all new applicants as
potentially fraudulent. Without the ability to flag these
applications at the front end, carriers would be exposed to
approximately $134 million in potential revenue losses across
Lightbridge's customer base. Additionally, Lightbridge alerts its
participating carriers to a monthly average of $11.7 million in newly
reported bad debt, which comes in the form of telecommunications
write- offs and shut-offs.
When calculating the data captured in Lightbridge's ProFile
database, wireless carriers in Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey,
New York and Texas are showing the highest number of reported bad
debt across the nation. New York and Texas top the list with $110
million and $93 million, respectively.
"BellSouth's use of Lightbridge's products and services continues
to enhance our competitive position," acknowledges Stacy Marino,
manager of revenue assurance at BellSouth Mobility DCS. "Now that we
can detect and prevent fraud at the point of sale, we are able to
manage potential revenue losses much more effectively."
American Personal Communications (APC)/Sprint solidified its
fraud prevention efforts in December of 1996 with the addition of
Fraud Detect. "Since the implementation of Fraud Detect, APC has
realized a significant reduction in the number of fraudulent
applications compromising the integrity of its system," said Bob
Holliday, director of risk management for APC/Sprint. "It is an
effective and efficient weapon in the fight against fraud."
"We are very enthusiastic about the results our clients are
realizing with Fraud Sentinel and our contribution to the fight
against subscription fraud," said Michelle Wheeler, fraud product
marketing manager at Lightbridge, Inc. "Subscription fraud is a
serious crime that is wreaking havoc with carriers' bottom lines.
Lightbridge is dedicated to helping combat subscription fraud
quickly, easily and effectively."
Fraud Sentinel: A Day In The Life
Fraud Sentinel is having a marked affect on reducing carriers'
risk for subscription fraud. Following are real-life `snapshots' of
fraud detection and prevention stories taken from the records of
Lightbridge's customers:
-- In the first day of every Fraud Sentinel implementation to
date, Lightbridge discovered at least one applicant giving the
identification of a dead person at the point of sale.
-- Using Fraud Sentinel's ProFile application, a database which
includes - of a billion dollars in carrier accounts receivable
write-offs and shut-offs, Lightbridge identified someone applying for
service in Pittsburgh as having been written off by a different
carrier two months earlier for $4,977 in bad debt. This example is
extremely typical.
-- During one carrier's first three hours of Fraud Sentinel use,
seven `dead people' applied for service. One customer was found,
using Fraud Detect, because her social security number belonged to a
deceased person. She had intentionally transposed the middle numbers
of her social security number to avoid paying a security deposit due
to her credit history.
The Fraud Sentinel Product Suite
Fraud Sentinel is the industry's most comprehensive, front-end
solution for helping telecom carriers combat subscription fraud.
Fraud Sentinel is a suite of pre-screening tools for detection and
prevention of subscription fraud. It enables the highest degree of
customization, allowing carriers to determine their own exposure and
tolerance levels. Sold separately or together, the Fraud Sentinel
product suite includes:
-- ProFile - the most extensive and reliable telecom inter-
carrier deadbeat database which is unique in its FCRA (Fair Credit
and Reporting Act) compliance. ProFile is a proprietary
inter-carrier database of accounts receivable write-offs and service
shut-offs that provides on-line pre-screening of potentially
fraudulent applicants.
-- Fraud Detect - a multifaceted fraud detection tool provided
under agreement with Trans Union Corporation, that analyzes an
applicant's Social Security Number, date of birth, address, telephone
number and driver's license information, and identifies any
discrepancies.
-- Postalpro - a tool to validate addresses detecting false
addresses, incorrect Zip codes and contradictions between addresses
and Zip codes before a potential subscriber's service is activated.
About Lightbridge
Lightbridge, Inc. (NASDAQ:LTBG), based in Waltham, Mass., is the
leading provider of software-based services that help global
telecommunications carriers quickly acquire customers and retain them
over time. Lightbridge has leveraged its credit processing expertise
into solutions that help carriers quickly and cost-effectively
provide bundled services through new channels. Lightbridge is the
only provider of acquisition, fraud, churn and market performance
solutions that delivers a complete, workflow- enhanced system for
customer interaction in the converged telecom marketplace.
Additional information on the company can be found on the Web at
lightbridge.com .
CONTACT:
Lightbridge, Inc. Neva Group
Kate Strong Terry May/Monique Klares
(617) 672-4852 (617) 441-4000 x230/246
kstrong@lightbridge.com tmay@neva.com
mklares@neva.com
KEYWORD: MASSACHUSETTS
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMED COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS TELECOMMUNICATIONS
RODUCT
BW1176 JUN 02,1997
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