Security has never been more of a hot topic than it is today. Although protection against fraud and cyber-attacks has long been a critical concern of most companies, the rise in publicised issues over the last year or so has sent many brands into a state of panic. The question is, how can the average reseller ensure that their customer is protected against the risk of fraud and that their reputation holds up to scrutiny?
Union Street is the leading provider of telecommunications provisioning, billing and customer management services in the UK, offering solutions to service providers in the IT, data, and communications industries. One of the things that makes Union Street’s award-winning software so popular is the fact that it can deliver robust functionality for managing secure networking services. I spoke to Union Street COO, José Fernandez to learn more about their advice for tackling fraud.
What’s Union Street’s Take on The Fraud Problem Today?
As mentioned above, fraud is a problem that no company can reasonably afford to ignore. Every year, the UK continues to lose billions in fraud expenses. In fact, our country is the third-most targeted country in the world, with businesses suffering from anywhere up to £1.2 billion in losses each year.
When people talk about Toll Fraud in the communications world, they’re often talking about SIP credential fraud or dial-through fraud – two problems that Union Street is highly familiar with. With SIP credential fraud, the problem comes down to poor passwords and encryptions at the end-user level, while dial-through fraud can be used to enable illicit call dialling.
José told me: “Though we have mechanisms in our billing system to detect fraud, prevention will always be better than cure. End-users and PBX installers need to take responsibility for their security too. Installing and properly securing a PBX is crucial, and communications providers are, in most cases, doing a brilliant job of coaching their customers about safety. However, it’s up to everyone to make sure that they’re taking steps against fraud.”
How Can Union Street Protect Against Fraud?
According to José, resellers in the telecoms industry are increasingly prepared for fraud events and are becoming more proactive in their protection strategies. As such, Union Street’s flagship solution for security “Line Guard”, is seeing more use than ever before.
Included within Union Street’s “aBILLity” billing platform, Line Guard works by analysing call traffic as call data records or “CDRs” are imported into the billing system. It’s designed to automatically search for unusual charge rates and calling patterns that could be signs of fraudulent activity, said Fernandez:
“If the evidence suggests that fraud might be taking place, aBILLity can automatically notify all stakeholders and, in some cases, place a temporary hold on the line to protect people from experiencing further damage.”
While there are caveats to how much Union Street can do based on the technology a customer has, they are actively making it easier to protect against fraud by assessing calls as soon as the necessary records are available. Additionally, Union Street work alongside The Telecoms UK Fraud Forum, or “TUFF” to support their customers.
“TUFF have a blacklist of known fraud numbers, and we import that list every month into our fraud protection plans for customers. This makes it easier for them to profile callers on a number of different levels.”
What Are Union Streets Top Tips for Managing Fraud?
While there may be no one-size-fits-all approach to handling the problem of fraud, all companies, no matter how big or small, can take steps to reduce their risk. According to Fernandez, the path to success starts with making sure that you take a multi-layered approach to protecting customers.
“Resellers and channel partners should be using the best tools available to them to prevent fraud. There’s nothing wrong with investing in different levels of fraud protection from different providers. In fact, one of the best things you can do is get to know your customers and tailor the fraud plan to their unique needs.”
Since one customer might consider international calls to be normal, and another would see them as a sign of fraud, it makes sense to adjust plans according to the unique practices of any end customer. Union Street also recommend:
- Actively looking at the supply chain: “When you’re searching for partners, look for people who have an active involvement in supplying innovative and robust solutions for fraud protection.”
- Viewing fraud protection as a value-added service and differentiator: “Some of our partners use Line Guard as a value-added service to help sell their systems. They tell people that they have protection against fraud, and people appreciate this level of insurance.”
- Performing due diligence: “As you acquire new customers, make sure that you look at blacklists, perform credit checks, and examine company authenticity. Due diligence can go a long way in fraud protection.”
Ultimately, the key to fraud protection for any business starts with taking the issue seriously. The more you know about toll fraud, the more prepared you can be to protect both your brand and your customers. Fernandez noted that almost every reseller will encounter fraud at some point during their careers, and customers always feel that their communications partners should be doing their best to ensure safety.
“If you’re not actively protecting your customers, then you could risk losing them.”
Finding a Solution to Toll Fraud
With countless cyber security problems emerging in the news, and the rise of new and complex technologies leaving people with questions about their security strategies, it’s crucial for resellers to think about what they’re doing about toll fraud. Though it’s a difficult topic for anyone to talk about, the truth is that getting ahead of toll fraud could rely on raising awareness about the subject.
Union Street believe that if everyone has a thorough education about toll fraud and how it works, along with an insight into the tools they can use to protect themselves, the world could be a safer place.
