Why big brands are fighting phone fraud and what could they do

When big brands (like major public utility companies) have to blast emergency email alerts warning millions of citizens against fraudulent phone impersonators, the traditional voice call channel is officially in crisis. Do not wait for fraudsters to copy your brand identity, make your outbound communications completely inimitable with network-verified Branded Calling.

The crisis of confidence in big brands communications

A recent security alert issued by the French electricity distribution grid operator Enedis highlights an aggressive, industry-wide operational threat. Fraudsters are systematically launching massive phishing and phone spoofing campaigns, pretending to be official utility agents or certified partners to sell fake commercial offers and steal sensitive user credentials.

For legitimate B2B and public service enterprises, this environment creates severe operational gridlock:

• Shattered pick-up rates: Because 80% of citizens refuse to answer calls from unrecognized numbers out of spam anxiety, critical operational calls—like scheduling a grid maintenance intervention, resolving a bill issue, or adjusting a smart meter deployment—go completely unanswered.
• Costly administrative loops: When important calls are ignored, operators are forced to fall back on expensive secondary channels like SMS, postal mail, or repeated manual call-backs, driving operational overhead through the roof.
• Brand equity erosion: When bad actors successfully impersonate an organization, the business bears the long-term reputational damage, forcing teams to waste marketing resources on counter-defensive warnings instead of proactive customer engagements.

As Enedis explicitly reminded its users: true public service interventions always require clear, verified appointments. But how can a user verify legitimacy instantly on their screen during the first 3 seconds of a ringing phone?

Moving from defensive warnings to network-verified sovereignty

Traditional mitigation strategies are inherently defensive, offloading the burden of security onto the consumer by telling them to hang up, sign up for blocklists like Bloctel, or report numbers to government regulatory bodies like the DGCCRF.

The Branded Calling API from operators like Orange shifts the paradigm from passive defense to absolute brand sovereignty. Instead of broadcasting an anonymous phone number that any bad actor can easily spoof or mimic, the API injects your verified corporate name directly into the native mobile network signaling path.

When an enterprise calls an end-user, the network dynamically pushes the authorized brand name (e.g. Enedis, Darty, or EDF) directly onto the device’s screen. Because this data is injected securely at the carrier layer, it cannot be manipulated by internet-based VoIP spoofing tools. This provides instant contextualization, assuring the customer that the call is part of an official, scheduled service task.

Technical roadmap and multi-operator availability

Integrating network-verified identity into your customer experience stack aligns with the following availability roadmap across the French market:

• Immediate Pilot: Enterprise tech leads can apply right now to launch a controlled pilot to benchmark immediate pick-up rate optimization.
• September 2026: Native, carrier-grade deployment goes fully live across the entire Orange France network footprint.
• October 2026: Orange Business launches a consolidated multi-operator service in France, allowing enterprises to manage cross-carrier identity display through a single, unified API integration point.

Render your customer calls inimitable

Stop letting anonymous numbers and malicious impersonators dictate the success of your outbound operations. Restore absolute trust from the very first ring, protect your customers from fraud, and maximize your operational ROI.

Stay tuned for Orange Business offer, October 1^st