New feature: introducing enhanced anti-fraud animation for a more secure mobile ticket validation

We’re excited to introduce an enhanced anti-fraud animation as part of our latest update to UrbanHub. This change will help make it easier than ever for drivers to identify a valid mobile ticket and give operators greater confidence in the security of their ticketing systems whilst reducing dwell times.

Our interactive anti-fraud animation uses coloured bubbles which move across the ticket display and demonstrate to drivers they are looking at a real ticket. Now the bubbles cover more of the screen, making it easier for drivers to see. The animation appears on both QR and visual validation ticket types, and ensures that a screenshot or screen recording of a ticket cannot be used to defraud inspectors.

As well as being highly visible, the ticket features go even further to tackle fraud by responding to a user’s hand movements. This uses the mobile device’s inbuilt accelerometer – a feature of all modern smartphones – to detect when the user rotates the screen and augment the bubbles accordingly by always rising upwards. This means that ticket inspectors can ask a passenger to rotate their phone in real-time, and see the instant response in the direction of the bubbles. This cannot be replicated by a pre-recorded video and proves that the ticket is real.

By making the anti-fraud animation more visible, drivers and revenue inspectors can quickly identify a valid ticket with a visual inspection. Ticket fraud can cost the transport industry millions, with fare evasion costing TfL at least £130m in 2022-23*. To tackle this, a mobile ticketing solution needs to be robust and difficult to replicate. The tickets are already locked to the device they are activated on, meaning users cannot share accounts and scan the same ticket twice. However, our technologies go a step further to prevent would-be fare evaders from using still images and/or videos to fool the ticket scanners, drivers and conductors into accepting fraudulent copies.

Simon Franklin, Senior Product Manager at UrbanThings says: “Our mobile ticketing solution needs to give our customers confidence that only individuals who have paid for a ticket can use it. At UrbanThings, we’re constantly introducing new and exciting features and will keep innovating to put our clients and their customers at the heart of everything we do.”

Our recent changes are already available in our passenger apps. We’re passionate about helping cities and operators improve their passenger experience. If you would like your own branded app, contact us and we will be in touch soon.