€300k deal for Dublin start-up

Irish fraud management company Xintec has added another major European telecoms player to its stable of clients which already includes the likes of Orange and Virgin Mobile, in a deal believed to be worth over €300,000.

The Dublin-based start-up has signed an agreement with France’s largest mobile virtual network operators, Euro-Information Telecom, to help protect it from fraudsters.

Mobile virtual network operators are companies that offer mobile services to customers by using others’ networks as opposed to owning their own infrastructure.

Xintec’s software will help reduce revenue leakage from international revenue share fraud which is among the biggest risks faced by telecom providers.

Typically, fraudsters obtain SIM cards which are then used to make international calls to high-value premium-rate service numbers. By inflating the traffic to these numbers, the fraudsters share the proceeds with unscrupulous premium rate service companies, ultimately leaving the operator having issued the SIM cards in the first instance to foot a potentially eye-popping bill.

“By adding [Xintec’s software] to our existing fraud detection capability, we can now better manage a particularly important risk area within our organisation,” said Euro- Information Telecom head of strategy and internal control, Philippe Sikora.

“International revenue share fraud is one of the industry’s most enduring problems and it is crucial that we remain vigilant at all times to ensure our roaming and interconnect revenues are fully protected,” he said.

With more than 1.4m customers, Euro- Information Telecom Telecom is the parent of five major French telecoms including: NRJ Mobile, Cofidis Mobile, and CIC Mobile.

Xintec has also developed, in partnership with specialist communications fraud and risk consultancy company Colin Yates Consulting, a database of 100,000 actively managed test-call numbers, known as Prism.

When used with Xintec’s FMSevolution fraud detection software, fraudulent activity can be detected ‘on the fly’ either before the attack occurs or just as it is being perpetrated.

“Prism has proven a very effective solution in the fight against international revenue share fraud and the proposition is very unique on the market today,” said Xintec chief executive Sean Killeen.