Warning against phone fraud

BUSINESSES could be at risk of losing thousands of euro through phone fraud, telecom company Minutebuyer said yesterday.

The company said employers needed to watch out for staff misusing their phone systems and also warned that they were open to attack from outside hackers.

It quoted garda estimates that fraudsters could rack up bills of €90,000 over the course of a weekend and said the annual cost of failing to tighten up phone security could be as high as €60 billion worldwide.

Minutebuyer chief operating officer Shaun Hayden said: “Just like a computer hacker, a phone hacker employs an array of complex hacking tools ranging from password-stealing software to automatic diallers that are designed to circumvent common security measures. And hackers are difficult to detect until the damage is already done, sometimes resulting in the loss of thousands of euro and sometimes resulting in the loss of vital corporate information.”

Minutebuyer said phone misuse by company employees could include unauthorised calls to premium-rate numbers, such as competition and chat lines; making international calls to friends and family in other countries after work; and excessive personal calls or use of the internet during office hours.

Minutebuyer yesterday launched a range of new services to customers to allow them reduce the risk of fraud. These include a standard monthly report that monitors phone usage and detects unusual patterns of usage, as well as a more detailed study of a company’s telecoms infrastructure to probe for weaknesses.