R E V E N U E A S S U R A N C E / F R A U D M A N A G E M E N T
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crimes and it is now not uncommon for staff to be threatened totally ignorant that their cards had been compromised
with violence, even facing guns and other weapons. in this way. It was only a tip off by the merchants that
led to the eventual arrest of these fraudsters.
Another aspect of the technological revolution is the
value criminals now place on data. Data theft either The Past, The Present and The Future of Mobile Fraud
by hacking, actual theft or social engineering has also - Looking back over a decade, mobile fraud has not
increased dramatically in the recent past. Some of this surprisingly moved with the technology. In the mid
is due to the global market place where outsourcing 90’s we were coming to the end of handset cloning
to overseas locations increases the risks of data and widespread dealer fraud both of which had been
loss and brings with it new challenges to security successfully defeated by the combined efforts of
personnel to ensure data integrity across a diverse industry investigators and technological advances. The
and sometimes not very well joined up organisation. turn of the century saw handset theft at a peak within
the UK along with major losses from roaming fraud
Is The United Kingdom Still an Island? –In the geographical and handset unlocking. Now we see compromised
sense yes. However the levels of organised criminality which identity being the driver for fraud aided and abetted by
sees lorry loads of goods taken off UK motorways and the ease of transferring information via the internet.
appearing in other countries within 72 hours demonstrates It has not all been the fraudsters’ way: industry has
just how the whole of Europe and beyond suffers at the had some remarkable and continuing successes
hands of global criminality. The same international flavour however we all know that to fraudsters, the challenge
is present in compromised IT systems, credit cards and the is not only making money but also circumventing
higher levels of roaming fraud the industry has experienced the processes that are in place to prevent fraud.
in recent years. Data leaked or lost from overseas locations
is quickly sold on and used to manipulate and assist in As in the Indian case the ‘experts’ are making money by
the commission of fraudulent transactions which know selling their expertise to the soldiers who commit the act.
no geographical boundaries. The same can be said for
stolen hand sets which increasingly end up overseas so The industry is introducing greater functionality with
bypassing the strict regime of blocking that is in place greater transparency to users which will add a set of
within the UK and in some other European countries. whole new challenges. Will mobile banking and payments
make the handsets a more attractive target for criminals?
Let Me Tell You ‘Another’ Story – This time it is three Will the incorporation of multimedia and television open
young people surfing the net in downtown Ahmedabad in users to greater risk in the operation of a mobile device?
India. None are particularly knowledgeable, however after
contacting some ‘experts’ via their surfing activities they What is certain is that fraudsters will not simply
ended up buying a database of some 4,000 compromised disappear but will continue to test the levels of
credit cards. The database contained not only credit detection and industry security professionals will
card numbers but also credit card information like CVV continue to be the first line of defence. After all,
numbers, expiry dates and even IP addresses for online Fraud is Fraud but to some it is a way of life.
shopping. After suitable instructions from their new found
cyber friends, the data was soon used to purchase mobile Jack Wraith MBE, is CEO of the Telecommunications
phones via the internet and the majority of the owners of United Kingdom Fraud Forum and Chair of
the cards, all of whom were located in the USA, remained the Mobile Industry Crime Action Forum.

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