Phreaking

Phreaking or Dial-through-fraud is a type of illegal and unauthorised access into your telephone system, other wise known as phone hacking.

Unlike some phone hacking which attaches a listening device on to your system, Phreaking is the unauthorised use of your system to dial high toll numbers raking up a huge bill attached to your number and your company.

The process is frighteningly simple, Its usually originates overseas and starts with someone gaining access into your  telephone system, they then sell their hacked access to other criminals who do the same thing, to avoid detection they route calls through the systems of other Phreaking victims , usually over several countries making it ridiculously hard  to trace. 

It is then the responsibility of each company to pick up their bill from their telecommunication provider, regardless of the origin of the calls, as far as the provider is concerned the call came from the companies line, and they are therefore responsible to pay the bill. 

As the service providers get their money irrespective of where the charges came from it provides little incentive for them to investigate the charges, or to push for a crack down. This is why it is imperative to make sure your phone system is up to scratch and protected.

Phreakers usually strike after hours, at the weekend or on public holidays when detection is least likely, but your telecommunications carrier will still expect you to pay for all the illegal calls routed through your phone system.

Phone hackers can rack up a huge bill, but not only that, they have access to your voicemail and any information stored on the handset once they have gained access. If you hold any personal information concerning your staff or customers and this is stolen, you could also find your company receiving a fine from the ICO for not complying with the Data Protection Act on top of the fraudulent charges.

The UK is now one of the top five global hot spots for communication fraud with it costing  companies £1.2Billion, globally the cost to companies is an astronomical £40Billion. 

These cost’s alone indicate that it is imperative to have a strong, reliable, and safe telephone system, do you know how your telephone system would stand up against Phreakers? For more information on protecting your telephone system :click here