Fraud and online dating are two things that are not meant to go together. Finding a special someone is hard enough as it is, but when fraud enters the scene, it’s nearly impossible.
So what do popular and successful dating apps do about the fraud problem? We bring you a story of one such company that wanted to keep out fraud while keeping their customers safe and happy.
Who is Mamba?
Mamba is a big name in the dating world. They have over 50,000 daily users spanning 50 countries. Users love the site’s image-friendly profiles and large pool of potential people to connect with.
With increased success comes a bigger target for fraud
Mamba is a thriving dating app, benefiting from the massive growth of the online dating industry.
Due to this growth and success, fraudsters work even harder to infiltrate their platform, which presents many potential issues.
The main issues Mamba faces
Why is fraud such a big threat to Mamba? The issue boils down to trust. If customers on the platform are victimized by a fraudster, the trust they have for the dating app is gone.
So what kind of fraud do dating apps face? Here are some of the most prevalent types:
- Identity theft
- Catfishing
- Spam
- Fake accounts
If a user were to connect with a fake profile, or have their identity stolen, rest assured they would lose trust in the dating platform they’re using.
This was a huge concern for Mamba, as they’ve built a dating app where their customers can find authentic matches on a platform they trust to protect them from fraud.
With the massive amount of new profiles created every day on Mamba, the company sought a way to shut down fraudsters before they had a chance to do harm.
Mamba’s most dire fraud-fighting needs
Despite all of Mamba’s success, they had some lingering questions about fraud and their security platforms. Some of their biggest concerns were the following:
- Fake accounts
- Spam
- Inflated SMS costs
- Identity proofing
- Promotion abuse
With these issues in mind, Mamba went to work creating a list of features they needed to keep their users safe and business running smoothly. Here were their biggest needs, in no particular order:
- A comprehensive verification tool that fits within their existing security system
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- Real-time fake user detection
- Reduced operational costs
They needed a solution that could tackle all these needs effectively.
Telesign and Mamba were a match
Because Mamba knew what they wanted—an automated fraud prevention solution—implementing Telesign was a no-brainer.
The two Telesign products that best fit Mamba’s needs were SMS Verify and Intelligence.
SMS Verify
SMS Verify is a Telesign API that sends single-use SMS verification codes. It allows businesses to add multi-factor authentication to their security platforms.
For Mamba, one of their biggest needs, MFA, was now met with the implementation of SMS Verify. The API allowed them to further inspire trust with their customers, using advanced machine learning to make real-time, risk-based decisions that enabled authentication without adding user friction.
Intelligence
Intelligence is a Telesign API that allows businesses to evaluate the risk of fraud throughout a customer journey. This tool uses comprehensive data to provide insight into the level of risk associated with a phone number.
Using Intelligence, Mamba had the power of data from 4 billion phone numbers to guide them in blocking fake users. Their onboarding process was supercharged as well, allowing Mamba to approve or decline new users without inconveniencing potential signups.
A perfect fit
Telesign’s SMS Verify and Intelligence APIs easily integrated with Mamba’s current security system, resulting in a seamless pairing that allowed for more secure onboarding and reduced fraud. Using Telesign increased Mamba’s conversion rates and lowered their verification costs by 50%.
Ultimately, this simple integration gave Mamba the ability to expand globally, shut down promo abuse, bot attacks, and fake accounts, all while reducing operational costs and keeping their end-users safe.
For more information on how Mamba used Telesign, check out the case study.
