How Does Telecom Fraud Work?

  

How Does Telecommunications Fraud Work?

 

Since telecommunication is the most widely used and oldest network in existence, accounting for 48% of global sales of consumer electronics, fraudsters have long developed methods and tools to take advantage of it.

 

Telco fraud is distinctive since it's frequently accepted as a given, whereas fraud attacks typically evolve swiftly over time as businesses squish them. Operators, who would rather avoid integrating complicated risk management systems into their structures, bear its expenses.

 

Higher-priced phone numbers

 

The report's call examples frequently involve premium-rate phone numbers. These premium-rate phone lines typically go to expensive locations. Anyone who provides them traffic will be offered a part of the earnings from calls to these numbers by the number's owner. This implies that a scammer who drives phony or artificial traffic to that location will get paid for each successful call.

 

Traffic spiking strategies

 

The term "traffic pumping" or "access stimulation" refers to the first significant category of telecom fraud schemes. These are revenue-sharing systems, which are characterized by con artists that significantly boost traffic to a certain high-priced location. The destination then gives the con artist a cut of their earnings.

 

Spikes in traffic to expensive locations are the call signature for these kinds of scenarios. Fraudsters frequently profit on the customers of a service provider's deficient security procedures. When a customer's network has been compromised, huge fraudulent charges are frequently refused, leaving the service provider to pay the bill. Attacks commonly occur over the weekends and on holidays when networks are typically less regularly watched.

 

Fraudulent Call Forwarding

 

One typical type of VoIP telecom fraud is the Call Forwarding hack. In this instance, fraudsters obtain access to a voicemail system's IVR or an enterprise PBX. They can then set up call forwarding to a pricey long-distance location to take advantage of a revenue-sharing arrangement.

 

The terms of service for the service provider typically make it very clear that the consumer is responsible for fraudulent calls made using their phone system. However, in practice, very few clients actually pay for fraudulent calls, and the service provider takes the financial hit because their carrier compels them to.

 

Numerous Transfer Fraud

 

The call forwarding scam that was previously discussed is improved in multiple transfer fraud. In this fraud scenario, as soon as the call recipient picks up, the call is transferred from the call source. The fake call is still in progress with two expensive destinations when the call is moved, and the call source hangs up. This fraud tactic is particularly damaging for a number of reasons:

 

● Two call legs to expensive destinations are the outcome of each bogus call.

● It is more challenging to pinpoint the origin of the fraudulent calls because the call source is no longer present in the call.

● The compromised call source can set up thousands of concurrent fake calls through the service by quickly repeating the operation, one call at a time.