How T-Mobile stops subscription fraud and account takeover with Incode
Incode verifies a real identity before a line is activated or a device is financed, and re-confirms the real subscriber before a SIM change or port-out.
Incode solutions across T-Mobile's channels
deepfake detection accuracy
faster onboarding for genuine subscribers
U.S. telecoms verify identity with Incode
A top U.S. wireless operator, verifying identity at carrier scale
T-Mobile is one of the largest wireless operators in the United States, serving subscribers across retail, digital, and care channels.
It verifies identity at carrier scale: millions of new line activations across thousands of retail doors and its digital channel, plus every SIM change, port-out, and care-center request on an account that already exists.
Subscription fraud and account takeover, at carrier scale
Identity fraud hits a wireless operator at two points: when a line is opened, and after it is live. Verifying identity only at activation leaves the second door open, and since 2024 regulators require it closed. The hard part is doing both without slowing genuine subscribers down.
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Subscription fraud at activation
A stolen or synthetic identity opens a line and finances a flagship handset that never gets paid off. Telecom fraud costs the industry $38.95B a year, $5.31B of it subscription fraud on a true or stolen identity and $4.89B first-party fraud with no intent to pay (CFCA, 2023).
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Account takeover on live lines
Fraudsters socially engineer the care center or a retail rep into a SIM swap or a port-out, seizing the subscriber's number and the one-time passcodes behind it.
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A new regulatory floor
Since 2024, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules require carriers to authenticate a subscriber before a SIM change or a port-out, so strong verification at those moments is now a compliance obligation.
T-Mobile set the bar at accurate identity in the moments that matter most, without adding the friction that turns good subscribers away.
Identity, verified at both moments
T-Mobile runs Incode as the identity layer across the customer lifecycle, from the first account to every high-risk change.
Verified identity at activation
Identity Verification
A customer's government ID is read, authenticated, and matched to their live face, confirming a genuine identity before a line is activated or a device goes on an installment plan. The document check inspects IDs for tampering and counterfeit security features, stopping fraudulent documents at submission. The same flow works in store and in the app, clearing legitimate subscribers in seconds.
Recognizing repeat fraud attempts
Incode's collective intelligence solution helps surface applicants whose prior attempts have already been flagged, regardless of what identity details they present the next time. It is a capability T-Mobile has developed and refined over several years.
Authentication for SIM changes, port-outs, and the care center
Authentication
When a subscriber asks to swap a SIM, port out a number, or make a sensitive change through the care center, Incode re-verifies that they are the real, enrolled account holder before it goes through. That shuts down the takeover vector and satisfies the FCC's authentication requirement for those moments.
How it works
One identity layer across the lifecycle
One layer, every channel
The same verification runs at the retail counter, in the app, and in the care center, so identity is checked the same way everywhere it matters.
Document and face, checked for real
Every ID is inspected for tampering and for the security features a counterfeit gets wrong, then matched to a live face, so a fraudulent document is caught the moment it is submitted.
Repeat fraudsters recognized
Biometric checks surface applicants whose earlier attempts were already flagged, whatever identity details they present the next time.
Gated at every high-risk change
SIM swaps, port-outs, and care-center changes are held until the real, enrolled account holder is re-confirmed.
Privacy is the architecture
Incode made privacy a founding conviction long before regulation or the market asked for it. Its AI-first identity verification reduces fraud while remaining private and compliant.
Testimonial
“Our goal was to strengthen identity verification across key customer journeys without adding friction for legitimate customers.”
Senior Risk Manager, T-Mobile
What's next
See how Incode secures identity for telecom
Verify a real identity at activation, and re-confirm the real subscriber before every high-risk change.