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What is Telecoms Fraud?

1. Malicious Disruption (AKA The Geek Hack)

Most usually targeted at larger companies; an individual with a gripe  will attempt to hack into the telephone system and create large call  costs for the company with no personal gain. 
Please read through the  Tips to Avoid System Hacking and Fraud Indication Alerting section of  this document to help pick up possible fraud when it happens, not when  your invoice is produced.

2. Unauthorised Calls by individuals with direct access

This type of fraud is usually committed by staff outside of working  hours, who are using your company’s phones for expensive calls such as  premium rate numbers and international destinations. This fraud involves  no hacking or complexity, and is largely opportunistic; however it can  be just as costly. In this instance it is vital that you have indicators  to raise any “out of the ordinary calls” to your attention. For  example, if your business runs from 09:00 to 17:00, you should be  alerted to any calls made between 17:00 and 09:00 that could possibly  not be business related calls.

3. Organised Crime

Unfortunately, this type of fraud is rife in the UK and is worth  twice that of Credit Card Fraud, at approximately £1.2 Billion per  annum. This is similar to the geek hack, however is committed for  personal gain by the Fraudster. There are several reasons for this; the  principle one being to make money. 
Once hacked into your telephone  system, the Fraudster will re-sell phone cards for international  destinations at a much lower rate than it would cost to call the  destination from a landline. When the phone card is used, the  destination is called via your telephone system, giving the Fraudster a  huge profit from the sale of the phone cards and leaving you to foot the  bill.

Top Tips to Avoid Telephone Fraud?

Telephones  are the lifeline of most businesses and you can’t afford to lose  contact with your customers. Arming yourself with knowledge and  implementing best practice is your best protection against telecoms  fraud. Taking a few simple measures to safeguard your business could  save you thousands of pounds:

• In the same way that you would never dream of using the word  ‘password’ as your password, make sure you change the security settings  and passwords on your telephone system from the default or factory  settings.
• Change voicemail and DISA (Direct Inward System Access) passwords  regularly and protect them and your access codes from unauthorised use.
• Remove or de-activate any telephone system functionality you don’t need including remote access ports.
• Never publish the remote access phone numbers that connect callers to your voice mail system.
• Program your telephone system to disallow access after three invalid  attempts, in the same way as entering the wrong PIN at the cash  machine.
• Remove redundant mailboxes.
• Immediately de-activate access codes and voice mail passwords of people who leave your business.
• Keep an eye on your monthly phone bills for anything that looks unusual
• Carry out regular audits of your telephone systems including privileges and restrictions
• Restrict access to equipment and hardware and limit users’ systems access to the minimum level it needs to be
• Implement policies and procedures to minimise risk
• Protect yourself with Fraud Monitor. Fraud Monitor keeps a close eye  on your account throughout the month and alerts you to any unusual  activity when it happens.

If you have been a victim, you need to report it at: http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/.