Phone Fraud Still a Problem For USA Businesses
from web site
What has happened to telecom fraud? Do you think it is still a problem? Are you, as a business owner, need to be worried? Fraudulent phone calls are a concern for all businesses, regardless of the many advances in security technology. The mere idea of thousands of loss to businesses as a result of phone fraud is daunting. The threat of phone fraud is still a source of financial ruin to your business. This is a scary thought. Even with the advent of VOIP technology, criminals continue to discover ways to break into complex systems, and companies like mine may still be impacted.
Three main types of phone fraud should worry the majority of individuals. This article will discuss each of them. Nuisance fraud (cramming and slamming) as well as the proprietary phone system (PBX and key system) fraud voice mail fraud, and the most recent threat called VOIP phone system scam.
Nuisance Fraud: The majority of us, as professionals, will at some time or another come across nuisance fraud, otherwise known as slamming and cramming. Although nuisance fraud isn't likely to make or break any business, it can drain revenue if it is not addressed on the phone bill.
Cramming is the process whereby a third party charges for services and fees which the client didn't authorize. These charges aren't ordered nor desired by your company. These costs could include things like bogus voicemail service charges, operator-assisted phone calls as well as calling program programs monthly charges, credit check services, and monthly service fees. Also, bogus white pages and yellow pages advertising may also show up on your business phone invoices or be billed to you directly.
Cramming refers to the addition of charges to a subscriber's bill for services which were not requested or purchased by the client , or charges for calls and services that weren't disclosed to the consumer. These charges are often assessed by unscrupulous third-party suppliers of communication and data that telephone companies are required, by law, to allow third parties to charge on the bill.
Have you ever looked over your local phone bill and found strange costs from "other service providers that you don't recognize?" If you have, chances are very good that you've seen a large amount of charges. For businesses with large budgets, the charges are buried deep within the bills and are hard to spot and may go on for years, month after month without being noticed.
What are the best ways to obtain refunds and combat spamming? Start by contacting read more and ask them for an inverse of the charges. Most likely they will. If they are not cooperating with you, then call the FCC or your state's attorney general, and the FTC to file an FTC complaint. But first, let the crammer know that you'd like to offer them the chance to refund your money.
The term "slamming" refers to when a company provides long distance, local or local toll service and an unauthorized change or switch. Slamming can be frustrating as dishonest phone companies may be able to easily alter or "pick" your long-distance services for their plans, at a greater cost than the one you had selected. You still have to switch all of your lines to the right long distance provider , and then get a refund. How can you stop it? Ask the carrier to put an "pic freeze" on your phone lines. To gain access to all of your local, long-distance and cell phone accounts, you must ask the carrier for an official password. Limit access to the accounts to two employees.
The phone system is prone to fraud as well as voice mail kinds of frauds remain common for many businesses. They'll continue to be a problem as long as there is PBX and Key-type phone systems. Long distance calls can be costly and hackers have easy access. reverse phone book is easier to avoid this kind of fraud rather than repairing it after it has occurred. It's a fact hackers, as with others, are lazy. They'll abandon your company and go on to do something else if you have the proper safeguards. Make sure your phone system manufacturer provides master passwords for your phone and voicemail systems are changed at the time of your visit. Hackers are able to access these passwords and can steal your information easily if they are able. In fact, many of these phone system master passwords (i.e. many of the master passwords (i.e. Avaya Siemens, Nortel Mitel, Cisco, Mitel, Mitel and Mitel) can be found online. Change your password by calling the organization who manages your telephone system.
Also, you should make sure that your telephone systems' remote access is secure. This can be accomplished by using security encryption technology for remote access to your systems. Also, ensure that your employees do not make use of passwords that are easy to remember, such as "1111" to access their voice mail accounts. These can be easily hacked. It is also possible to set your voice mail system to ensure that it will prompt users to update their passwords at least every 90 days. Be sure to remove all voicemails that have not been utilized by employees after they leave the company. Why? Hackers gain control over the voicemail mailbox and then records "yes" The hacker calls an outside call center and places a third party. The operator asks if you're willing to pay third-party charges for Mr. reverse number ' calls. The voice mail box responds, "yes", as programmed.
web site to businesses in the present is the issue of weak connections in the employees, especially the company receptionist. This is sometimes described as "social engineering fraud." Your receptionist and employees should be on guard for calls that is received in which an individual may identify him/herself as a representative of the phone company who is conducting tests on lines. The caller could state, "I'm with the phone company and I'm running an experiment on your phone systems, please transfer me to a particular extension." Transferring click for info to certain numbers first connects to an outside line "dialing 9" and "dialing the number 0" connects to the outside operator who can facilitate the call anywhere in the world to the crooks. The calls are later billed to your company. Hackers have also been known to use other ploys such as identifying executives of large companies are and then impersonating the person in a phone call to the company. The receptionist might not recognize their voice, as typically board members do not interact with receptionists the same way that employees do. The authority of a board member implies that receptionists can transfer unlimitable amounts to callers. The majority of the time, the crime is not found until the bill is paid. Inform the employees and receptionists of this scheme. Numerous companies raked in thousands of dollars from overseas calls because of this ploy.
If your business has a toll-free inbound number beware! Hackers can call in on the number toll free and make use of features and codes to make calls to other countries or even make service charges for paid calling services.
Another thing to do is limit some calls forwarding and conferencing functions in your phone system for business which could aid hackers in forwarding calls to your account. To ensure your phone system's security, talk to the vendor of your phone system to perform a vulnerability assessment. web site of the largest phone equipment manufacturers, Siemens, Avaya, Nortel and Mitel provide security bulletins and security support programs to help keep your systems secure and up-to-date.
VOIP fraud Third and final concern regarding telecom voice fraud to be discussed is the most recent threat to businesses and that is VOIP fraud. Although fraud using voice over IP isn't yet widely known, it is becoming more common. As mentioned previously in the section about phone system fraud, changing the passwords for your system within your VOIP telephone system is one of the best ways you can stop this kind of fraud.
There is a growing need for more attention paid to recent hacks on VOIP systems, however actual instances of fraud documented are only beginning to be an issue. In 2007, two individuals were detained after they routed calls through unprotected network ports from other companies in order to divert calls to providers. The two men routed half a billion calls to VoIP providers during three weeks. Federal investigators believe that the two perpetrators earned up to $1 million through the scam. However, actual instances of fraud involving VOIPs on these systems are unusual, yet there is a lot of risk for harm, since weaknesses and flaws in security become more prevalent and more easily exploitable by skilled hackers.
VOIP hackers are able to use passwords from corporate systems to gain access to voice systems. They can also steal millions of minutes of long-distance service. How? How? They devise and use custom software codes to crack access codes and gain access to data ports , data gateways and computer systems. Hackers could effortlessly use default passwords or poorly chosen passwords.
To defend your company , and to stay abreast on the latest security techniques and VOIP fraud prevention tips for your VOIP equipment vendors and ask specific questions on how to best protect your system. If you have a large VOIP system, it might be beneficial to engage a professional to perform a security audit of your system. The latest encryption techniques are necessary for IP business users as well as IT managers. free phone call app must also ensure that employees are trained and monitored so that they can ensure efficient protection of company data.
The best method to know if a telecom fraud is being perpetrated on an enterprise is to perform an extensive telecommunications audit as well as a thorough review of the phone system.
Three main types of phone fraud should worry the majority of individuals. This article will discuss each of them. Nuisance fraud (cramming and slamming) as well as the proprietary phone system (PBX and key system) fraud voice mail fraud, and the most recent threat called VOIP phone system scam.
Nuisance Fraud: The majority of us, as professionals, will at some time or another come across nuisance fraud, otherwise known as slamming and cramming. Although nuisance fraud isn't likely to make or break any business, it can drain revenue if it is not addressed on the phone bill.
Cramming is the process whereby a third party charges for services and fees which the client didn't authorize. These charges aren't ordered nor desired by your company. These costs could include things like bogus voicemail service charges, operator-assisted phone calls as well as calling program programs monthly charges, credit check services, and monthly service fees. Also, bogus white pages and yellow pages advertising may also show up on your business phone invoices or be billed to you directly.
Cramming refers to the addition of charges to a subscriber's bill for services which were not requested or purchased by the client , or charges for calls and services that weren't disclosed to the consumer. These charges are often assessed by unscrupulous third-party suppliers of communication and data that telephone companies are required, by law, to allow third parties to charge on the bill.
Have you ever looked over your local phone bill and found strange costs from "other service providers that you don't recognize?" If you have, chances are very good that you've seen a large amount of charges. For businesses with large budgets, the charges are buried deep within the bills and are hard to spot and may go on for years, month after month without being noticed.
What are the best ways to obtain refunds and combat spamming? Start by contacting read more and ask them for an inverse of the charges. Most likely they will. If they are not cooperating with you, then call the FCC or your state's attorney general, and the FTC to file an FTC complaint. But first, let the crammer know that you'd like to offer them the chance to refund your money.
The term "slamming" refers to when a company provides long distance, local or local toll service and an unauthorized change or switch. Slamming can be frustrating as dishonest phone companies may be able to easily alter or "pick" your long-distance services for their plans, at a greater cost than the one you had selected. You still have to switch all of your lines to the right long distance provider , and then get a refund. How can you stop it? Ask the carrier to put an "pic freeze" on your phone lines. To gain access to all of your local, long-distance and cell phone accounts, you must ask the carrier for an official password. Limit access to the accounts to two employees.
The phone system is prone to fraud as well as voice mail kinds of frauds remain common for many businesses. They'll continue to be a problem as long as there is PBX and Key-type phone systems. Long distance calls can be costly and hackers have easy access. reverse phone book is easier to avoid this kind of fraud rather than repairing it after it has occurred. It's a fact hackers, as with others, are lazy. They'll abandon your company and go on to do something else if you have the proper safeguards. Make sure your phone system manufacturer provides master passwords for your phone and voicemail systems are changed at the time of your visit. Hackers are able to access these passwords and can steal your information easily if they are able. In fact, many of these phone system master passwords (i.e. many of the master passwords (i.e. Avaya Siemens, Nortel Mitel, Cisco, Mitel, Mitel and Mitel) can be found online. Change your password by calling the organization who manages your telephone system.
Also, you should make sure that your telephone systems' remote access is secure. This can be accomplished by using security encryption technology for remote access to your systems. Also, ensure that your employees do not make use of passwords that are easy to remember, such as "1111" to access their voice mail accounts. These can be easily hacked. It is also possible to set your voice mail system to ensure that it will prompt users to update their passwords at least every 90 days. Be sure to remove all voicemails that have not been utilized by employees after they leave the company. Why? Hackers gain control over the voicemail mailbox and then records "yes" The hacker calls an outside call center and places a third party. The operator asks if you're willing to pay third-party charges for Mr. reverse number ' calls. The voice mail box responds, "yes", as programmed.
web site to businesses in the present is the issue of weak connections in the employees, especially the company receptionist. This is sometimes described as "social engineering fraud." Your receptionist and employees should be on guard for calls that is received in which an individual may identify him/herself as a representative of the phone company who is conducting tests on lines. The caller could state, "I'm with the phone company and I'm running an experiment on your phone systems, please transfer me to a particular extension." Transferring click for info to certain numbers first connects to an outside line "dialing 9" and "dialing the number 0" connects to the outside operator who can facilitate the call anywhere in the world to the crooks. The calls are later billed to your company. Hackers have also been known to use other ploys such as identifying executives of large companies are and then impersonating the person in a phone call to the company. The receptionist might not recognize their voice, as typically board members do not interact with receptionists the same way that employees do. The authority of a board member implies that receptionists can transfer unlimitable amounts to callers. The majority of the time, the crime is not found until the bill is paid. Inform the employees and receptionists of this scheme. Numerous companies raked in thousands of dollars from overseas calls because of this ploy.
If your business has a toll-free inbound number beware! Hackers can call in on the number toll free and make use of features and codes to make calls to other countries or even make service charges for paid calling services.
Another thing to do is limit some calls forwarding and conferencing functions in your phone system for business which could aid hackers in forwarding calls to your account. To ensure your phone system's security, talk to the vendor of your phone system to perform a vulnerability assessment. web site of the largest phone equipment manufacturers, Siemens, Avaya, Nortel and Mitel provide security bulletins and security support programs to help keep your systems secure and up-to-date.
VOIP fraud Third and final concern regarding telecom voice fraud to be discussed is the most recent threat to businesses and that is VOIP fraud. Although fraud using voice over IP isn't yet widely known, it is becoming more common. As mentioned previously in the section about phone system fraud, changing the passwords for your system within your VOIP telephone system is one of the best ways you can stop this kind of fraud.
There is a growing need for more attention paid to recent hacks on VOIP systems, however actual instances of fraud documented are only beginning to be an issue. In 2007, two individuals were detained after they routed calls through unprotected network ports from other companies in order to divert calls to providers. The two men routed half a billion calls to VoIP providers during three weeks. Federal investigators believe that the two perpetrators earned up to $1 million through the scam. However, actual instances of fraud involving VOIPs on these systems are unusual, yet there is a lot of risk for harm, since weaknesses and flaws in security become more prevalent and more easily exploitable by skilled hackers.
VOIP hackers are able to use passwords from corporate systems to gain access to voice systems. They can also steal millions of minutes of long-distance service. How? How? They devise and use custom software codes to crack access codes and gain access to data ports , data gateways and computer systems. Hackers could effortlessly use default passwords or poorly chosen passwords.
To defend your company , and to stay abreast on the latest security techniques and VOIP fraud prevention tips for your VOIP equipment vendors and ask specific questions on how to best protect your system. If you have a large VOIP system, it might be beneficial to engage a professional to perform a security audit of your system. The latest encryption techniques are necessary for IP business users as well as IT managers. free phone call app must also ensure that employees are trained and monitored so that they can ensure efficient protection of company data.
The best method to know if a telecom fraud is being perpetrated on an enterprise is to perform an extensive telecommunications audit as well as a thorough review of the phone system.
