Strengthen Identity Verification with Subscriber Match (Now in Beta)

Introduction

Identity Insights introduces a new insight called Subscriber Match in Beta. It allows companies to verify a user’s identity by comparing the details they provide, such as name, address, or date of birth, with records held by their mobile network operator's KYC (Know Your Customer) data, while ensuring strict adherence to privacy and data security standards.

It solves two key challenges: confirming that new signups are genuine and unique, and identifying suspicious activity needing further verification before access is granted.

In this article, we will explore what Subscriber Match is, the challenges it addresses, the benefits it delivers, and provide some examples on how you can get started with it.

Benefits

In the customer journey, verification becomes faster and more reliable, helping developers feel confident they can reduce fraud and onboarding friction.

Fraud protection improves as the system identifies potential identity theft and synthetic identities before they cause damage. 

Businesses also strengthen their compliance with KYC-related regulatory requirements. Because Subscriber Match leverages operator-verified records, it offers a cost-effective alternative to formal KYC processes. 

Use Cases

Let’s have a look at some scenarios in which Subscriber Match can be applied. It’s worth noting that it can be combined with other insights, such as SIM Swap or Location Verification, to identify risk and secure online transactions

Identity Verification

Businesses collect input from end users to create accounts. The company can leverage Subscriber Match to verify that the supplied information matches the mobile operator's verified records. Depending on market regulations, identity verification is required upon account creation and on an ongoing basis to ensure that end-user data is up-to-date and accurate.

Fraud Prevention

Businesses take input from users attempting high-value transactions, and the company matches end-user information to ensure accuracy. Subscriber Match can verify that the person attempting the transaction is who they claim to be during high-value transactions, adding a protective layer against fraud and securing the process in real time. 

When the data provided by a user matches the operator’s records, trust is established quickly, and the customer can move smoothly through the platform. When the data differs, the platform can flag the case for further checks before granting access. 

Example API Call

Subscriber Match is part of the Identity Insights API, which uses JSON Web Tokens (JWTs)  for authentication. After generating a JWT with the Vonage CLI or an online generator, you can send an API request with the phone number and the attributes you want to verify. 

An API request includes a phone number and attributes, with match-scoring algorithms that provide transparent results, fostering trust in the system's accuracy and security.

You can use the Virtual Operator as a simulated operator for the discovery, development, and testing of Network Features in scenarios where access to a live operator is unavailable. It provides predefined, deterministic API responses in the Network Registry Playground when using phone numbers associated with the unassigned country code +990. 

cURL Request Example

Below is a cURL request for the subscriber match insight. You can include as many or as few attributes in the array as required. Refer to the API Reference for more information.

curl -X POST https://api-eu.vonage.com/identity-insights/v1/requests  \

  -H "Authorization: Bearer $JWT" \

  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \

  -d '{

    "phone_number": "3932422383210",

    "purpose": "FraudPreventionAndDetection",

    "insights": {

        "subscriber_match": {

            "id_document": "65651232q",

            "given_name": "Jane",

            "family_name": "Doe",

            "street_name": "Unknown Street",

            "street_number": "1",

            "postal_code": "",

            "locality": "Holmdel",

            "region": "Monmouth County",

            "country": "US",

            "house_number_extension": "Suite 123",

            "birthdate": "1991-02-12"

          }

        }

    }'

See how to make an API call in our documentation.

Match Responses

Subscriber Match will return a match response for each provided attribute. These include exact matches, close but imperfect matches, partial matches, weak matches, no matches, or cases where the operator has no data for the attribute. 

The response also includes a status code indicating the overall result of the request, such as success, partial success, or an error.  

No Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is returned. You can find an example response code snippet below.

{

  "request_id": "c3cc6a32-2b21-381g-9c0a-1c86751a91c4",

  "insights": {

    "subscriber_match": {

        "id_document_match": "EXACT",

        "given_name_match": "DATA_UNAVAILABLE",

        "family_name_match": "DATA_UNAVAILABLE",

        "address_match": "EXACT",

        "street_name_match": "EXACT",

        "street_number_match": "EXACT",

        "postal_code_match": "EXACT",

        "country_match": "EXACT",

        "birthdate_match": "NONE",

        "status": {

            "code": "OK",

            "message": "Success."

      }

    }

  }

}

Conclusion

You’ve reached the end of this blog post. Subscriber Match offers a practical approach to validating users in real time using network operator data. It reduces fraud risk, simplifies compliance, and enhances the customer experience without the overhead of full KYC processes. For more information, you can explore the Identity Insights API Reference.