Afriwave test operations unveils SIM-Box fraud
Afriwave Telecom has detected more than 300,000 sim-boxes in five months of test operations after mounting crack down on sim-boxing.
The detection was via the prompt deactivation of detected numbers, showing significant progress since it was licensed in 2015.
The company recently announced plans to arrest SIM-Box fraud in Ghana and struck a deal with SIGOS, the worldwide leader in real time SIM Box detection.
They chose to go for what officials described as a centralised approach, allowing them to get a necessary nationwide view on fraudulent activities on the Ghanaian network after setting up robust systems and undertaking test operations from October ending 2015.
The two companies then mounted a crushing campaign, including a drastic increase of detection test calls and a deactivation platform linking up all operators.
“Detected SIM Box numbers, thanks to this solution, are swiftly relayed to the mobile operators and deactivated before they become profitable,” the Director of Corporate Affairs at Afriwave Telecom said on Friday.
The campaign, since the start, has led to the detection of more than 300.000 SIM Boxes,” Mr Donald Gwira added.
SIM Box fraud is a set up where fraudsters in Ghana connive with partners abroad to route international calls through the internet using voice over internet (VOIP) and terminate those calls through a local phone number in Ghana to make it appear as if the call is a local call.
The caller is often not aware of the activities of the cyber fraudsters whose activities result in the loss of huge revenue to the state as well as impact negatively on call quality like background noise received by customers.
Mr Gwira said: “We are committed to delivering on our mandate to fight telecommunications fraud across all mobile network operators.
“SIM-Box numbers are detected by the minute and relayed to the mobile network operators for immediate deactivation.
“This makes it cumbersome for the fraudsters to keep up as they have to constantly go back to the market to buy more SIM cards to re-stock.
“Working with the National Communications Authority and the law enforcement agencies in Ghana, we will be stepping up our strategy of Test Call Generation, which is what we are currently doing.
“[This will] include geo-location solution which will expose the location of the equipment and their operators for confiscation and prosecution so that SIM-Boxing is reduced to levels where it is no longer profitable for the fraudsters to stay in business.”
Afriwave Telecom is a wholly Ghanaian company established in 1998 to provide a full range of telecommunication services including equipment supplies, installation contractors, telecom consultants, manufacturers’ representatives and value added network services targeting both private and public sector clients.
The company awarded Ghana’s first Interconnect Clearing House license in February 2015 after a competitive bidding against four other applicants, and authorized to provide a common, independent mechanism for monitoring, routing, billing and settlement of local and international interconnect traffic for all existing and future telecommunications operators in the country.
Source: GNA