HP targets mobile phone fraudsters

The growing problem of mobile fraud will only increase unless network operators take greater precautions, warns Hewlett-Packard.

"Telecoms fraud is currently a $12bn (#7.3bn) per year problem and is increasing. Many GSM operators have no security," said Andy Belcher, general manager of HP's telecommunications systems division.

Highlighting the example of network Omnipoint, which lost five per cent ($9.6bn) of its annual revenue to a single fraud scam, Belcher said: "Criminals are selling stolen mobiles phones to make premium-rate international calls at the cost of the network operators."

To combat the problem, HP has launched AcceSS7, a fraud-detection network monitoring system that it claims can combat this problem by reducing the time it takes networks to become aware of a fraud. HP claims the system can reduce the time it takes to check a call from four hours to 30 minutes.

"AcceSS7 sits on top of the network. It is essentially a very large piece of distributed hardware and software that can go in and touch every part of a network. It can then interpret and analyse this information," said Belcher.

The handsets associated with this fraud are commonly obtained through false ID, and the most popular calls are international calls and calls to premium-charged sex lines.

"Fraudsters exploit any loopholes and time delays in the network systems and processes. The faster fraud is detected, the less money the network operators lose," said Belcher. "This has a knock-on effect for the customer."

In the UK, Orange has become the first mobile network to install AcceSS7.