Install fraud threatens the app market
The mobile app market will have to gear up for the fight of its life against install fraud. The app market is growing, but so too – predictably – is the risk of fraud. In fact, it is becoming so common that it is presenting a serious threat to the industry. Called either ‘click fraud’ […]
International SIM Box syndicate broken by anti fraud collaboration
By Dilip Mistry A clampdown on SIM Box fraud in Ghana has led to an anti fraud collaboration between the National Communications Authority (NCA), all telecom service providers in the country and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service. The operations have already led to the arrest of a six-member SIM Box […]
Liberian operator Novafone left fighting for survival in wake of SIM Box fraud allegations
By Andy Gent The result of high level SIM Box fraud at Novafone, which has seen the operator’s ISP Supervisor Hussein Dakroub implicate CEO Chady Salim, is now threatening the commercial survival of the company. Salim’s removal from the company this week raises further questions about his alleged role in the fraud which has been […]
Victims of phone theft gain protection from UK operators
By Shane Wilson The BBC has reported that under an agreement between the UK government and four mobile operators, subscribers who have their phone stolen will now be protected from “sky-high bills.” Culture Secretary Maria Miller has secured an agreement to cap the maximum amount customers of EE, Three, Virgin Media and Vodafone would be […]
Chinese police arrest SMS fraud gang
By Dilip Mistry Chinese police in Dalian have seized a 14 strong gang of alleged fraudsters involved in a fake SMS plot which is believed to have netted 1 million yuan ($164,100) since October. The gang is believed to have carried out at least 10 counts of text message fraud in just over a month […]
Student gang’s weekend blitz on mobile dealers
By Shane Wilson Dealer fraud, costing an estimated $3.35 Billion a year, is one of the top five frauds perpetuated against the mobile industry. The ease with which fraudsters are able to generate considerable sums of money was recently illustrated by a gang of six London students who conned Belfast and Ballymena businesses into providing […]
Mobile hacking – the new weapon for spies and fraudsters
By Dilip Mistry Germany’s interior minister Hans-Peter Friedrich’s claims that the hacking of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone was giving rise to “conspiracy theories” underestimated the reality. US National Security Agency’s silent response to the allegations that American spies had eavesdropped on the German Chancellor’s mobile phone took another surprising twist this week. German weekly Focus […]
Countering terrorism on the mobile network
By Shane Wilson, Revector Recent proposals by governments and security agencies have once again raised debate over how the mobile networks are to be treated in a threat scenario. The driver is the propensity for terrorist groups to deploy mobile as an element of an attack. In 2003, the FBI said that it found bombs […]
Part 3 Social media – how to avoid the fraudsters
Here are twelve simple rules to help anyone avoid social media fraud… Keep your Internet security software up to date to employ the privacy settings to limit who can view your profile Be cautious of downloading or using applications from unknown providers Beware of any links that ask you to sign on again Have a […]
Subscription fraud
Continuing our occasional series on the different kinds of fraud that take place on mobile networks, Mark Yelland, an international expert on mobile fraud and revenue protection looks at the risks associated with subscription fraud: Subscription fraud is usually described as using a service with no intention to pay. The concept is straightforward: the fraudster […]