Toll Fraud Prevention
What Is Toll Fraud?
Toll fraud describes a crime where an individual or organisation devises methods to gain unauthorised or illegal access to PABX resources, including the ability to dial long-distance calls through the PABX, (in which case the PABX incurs a cost, but the user does not). Once access is gained, onward selling of this information can lead to very large telephone bills, accumulating in a period of days or even hours.
Toll fraud usually occurs after business hours when the activity is unlikely to be noticed. Fraudsters make calls until all the site's trunks are in use, and can cost a company $2,000 – $4,000 per trunk per day until stopped. Because the carrier provides a service legitimately, they will charge the PABX owner, so a bad case of toll fraud can have serious financial impacts on companies.
Some Of The Symptoms Of Being Made A Target Of Toll Fraud Include:
- A single ring on phones. If this is more than an isolated occurrence, it can indicate that external frauders are testing your system to identify the extensions, which are activated in the in-dial range, and looking for voicemail entry and/or unprotected DISA numbers. Caller CLI will be turned off.
- Voice mail recordings with foreign language speech recorded. This occurs when the caller gets the voicemail frauding sequence wrong and leaves a message. Note the time of these messages – they are usually well outside your business hours. Please note however that it may not always be foreign language speech, it can be any voicemail recordings that appear to be unconnected to your business.
- Fax transmissions to extensions. If this occurs you should transfer the call to your fax machine and examine the information printed. Often fictitious sheets from non-existent charities are used to detect further interest.
- Billing Irregularities. The indication of irregular call destinations and times can indicate fraud and should be checked for illegal use via DISA, externally transferred extensions, or voicemail through-dialling. It is possible is to disable the DISA function if the business does not require this feature. Pay close attention to the numbers your business needs to dial or restrict access to – these are good policy items for regular review.
What Can 3D Networks Do To Assist in Securing Your Systems?
The security features available with your Meridian 1 PBX are your first line of defence against toll fraud. It is important to Audit your system and ensure you use the available features to prevent unauthorised access to long distance services.
3D Networks will assist in setting up your systems as per your instructions. This is performed at the time of installation (costed as part of the installation). Given that system parameters can be altered over time to accommodate changes in your organisation, you may be unsure of the precise security measures you currently have in place. 3D Networks would be pleased to conduct a thorough security audit on your behalf, analysing and reporting on existing facilities and recommending changes as necessary. Please contact your local 3D Networks Business Development Manager in your country to arrange a Security Audit.
For further information on how to prevent toll fraud occuring to your PABX systems, please download the document titled, Lock Thieves Out of Your System.
What should I do, in the future, if I suspect my systems are being breached?
Contact 3D Networks immediately if you suspect any strange occurrences. Our staff will assist you with analysing, reporting and recommendations.
- A single ring on phones: If this is more than an isolated occurrence, it can indicate that external frauders are testing your system to identify the extensions which are activated in the in-dial range and to look for voice mail entry and/or unprotected DISA numbers. Caller CLI will be turned off.
- Voice mail recordings with foreign language speech recorded: This occurs when the caller gets the voice mail frauding sequence wrong and leaves a message. Note the time of these messages - they are usually well outside your business hours. Please note, however, that it may not always be foreign language speech but may be any voicemail recordings that appear to be unconnected to your business.
- Fax transmissions to extensions: If this occurs, you should transfer the call to your fax machine and examine the information printed. Often, fictitious sheets from non-existent charities are used to detect further interest.
- Billing irregularities: The indication of irregular call destinations and times can indicate fraud and should be checked for illegal use via DISA, externally transferred extensions or voice mail through-dialling. It is possible is to disable the DISA function if the business does not require this feature. Also paying close attention to the numbers to which the business needs to dial or restrict access to is a good policy item for regular review.
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