EE, the UK’s largest mobile operator and part of BT Group, announced its Digital Identity platform to prevent identity theft and fraudulent activities.

The digital platform verifies a customer’s identity in real time. EE said its Digital Identity platform tackles SIM swap fraud; an account takeover where a customer’s phone number is transferred without the account holder’s knowledge. Fraudster can intercept messages or calls to the phone number and gain access to online accounts.

EE’s Digital Identity SIM Swap checker allows businesses to know when a customer’s SIM was last changed. Banking partners can stop financial transactions taking place until further identity checks are carried out. EE has already helped banks across the UK to protect customers using Digital Identity.

The Digital Identity Call Divert feature confirms that no call diversions have been put in place on a phone number, so all calls reach the intended user and are not diverted to a fraudulent number.

The platform can also help prevent fraudulent online account sign ups with its Know Your Customer product. A business can cross-check new customer data with data held in the EE databases and see if a phone has been reported lost or stolen. It also creates a more seamless experience for the customer, as they don’t have to provide their own verification or intervene in any additional checks.

“At BT and EE, we are committed to innovating to help protect customers from fraud and are already working closely with a number of industries, including banking, eCommerce and gaming, to protect millions of transactions every day,” Christian Thrane, managing director of Consumer Marketing at BT said.