London, UK and Norwalk, Connecticut, US, 23 May 2012 -- Adeptra, a provider in customer engagement technologies, today announced that in partnership with ValidSoft (a subsidiary of Elephant Talk Communications Corp. (NYSE MKT: ETAK)), it has developed, tested and implemented a detection and prevention application to tackle the growing problem of SIM card fraud for the banking industry. The solution combines ValidSoft’s fraud detection technology, with the rich and robust functionality of the cloud based Adeptra Risk Intervention Platform.

This solution provides the marketplace an opportunity to engage and understand customer data in a way that protects the banks and their customers within a real-time intervention delivered by Adeptra. This is the first Adeptra partner to successfully address the issue of SIM card fraud. The bank’s adoption of the application is another stage in its work to secure all transaction channels by using  technology and Adeptra’s cloud based Risk Intervention Platform to deliver the process.

SIM swapping is a financial crime that is increasing in frequency, where fraudsters obtain and utilise a replacement SIM card to acquire security messages and one-time passwords sent to the consumer by the bank. Criminals are then able to change details, add beneficiaries and transfer money out of the account using personal information that may have been acquired through phishing attempts. While most types of financial fraud are recognising reductions due to chip and pin, phone fraud saw a 48% increase in 2011.

The deployment at the bank comprises SIM swap protection provided by ValidSoft’s baseline processing system, coupled with its unique predictive modeling capabilities. Once a suspected case has been highlighted, Adeptra's Decision Engine considers all available detection sources and a wide array of consumer data to ascertain the risk level. The system will then determine whether a communication is required and initiates the communication via the most appropriate channel for that particular customer.

Adeptra’s CTO, Tony McGivern, commented: "Once again, Adeptra leads the market into a new territory by engaging and delivering the most sophisticated anti-fraud solutions in the industry today. Without any additional capital investment and using existing technology, banks can benefit from best-in-class fraud detection applications that deliver loss avoidance options to our clients. Adeptra assess and defines the intervention necessary to prevent further losses based on the critical data that ValidSoft delivers."

Pat Carroll, CEO of ValidSoft commented: "We are very pleased to see our partnership with Adeptra bearing fruits so quickly. The contract with a global leader in the banking industry demonstrates that ValidSoft's security technology is at the forefront of fraud prevention solutions. Our partnership with Adeptra combines the market leader in sophisticated customer care with the best of breed in fraud prevention solutions."