How SIM Box Fraud is Duping Mobile Network Companies?

As technology develops and progresses, scammers are always coming up with new strategies to defraud individuals’ money. The SIM box fraud in India is the most recent scam that is defrauding telecom firms of billions of dollars. 

Therefore, the losses from this scam and the larger connection bypass fraud are estimated to be $3.11 billion, or 7.8% of worldwide telecom fraud losses as per the Fraud Loss Survey Report 2021.

SIM box fraud has been detected across the nation. So It’s time to pay attention to this scam. So that you, your friends, and your family don’t fall prey to it. 

What is a SIM box?

A SIM box, sometimes referred to as a SIM bank, is the technology used as part of a VoIP gateway installation. Many SIM cards are placed in it; while connected to the gateway, are housed and kept apart from it. This may work with many GSM gateways that are spread out over various locations by having SIM cards from multiple mobile providers inserted in it.

• SIM box fraud causes losses to telecom operators by either paying local rates to mobile carriers or nothing at all after billing international prices from the source. The local telecom operator won’t get the old tariff rates after the calls transform, resulting in monetary loss.

• This scam don’t simply cause financial losses; they also hide the true identity of the caller. It opens the door for all kinds of cybercriminal activity. “Anybody may use this from anywhere in the globe because the conversion of international calls to local ones happens through the internet. Thus, this poses a danger to national security as well.

How Cybercriminals Get Your Identity?

There are 3 ways of obtaining your information are:- 

1. Phishing ( through email with malicious links)
2. Smishing (through SMS)
3. Vishing (through phone call)

How Scammers Carry Out this SIM Box Fraud? 

This scam involves a bypass. Sim Boxes are devices that scammers use to route international calls over the internet so they look like local calls.

1. First, cybercriminals use hundreds of inexpensive or even free SIM cards by using false identities. Then they will redirect international calls over the internet to a mobile device using a SIM box. To convert international VoIP calls to local GSM calls, it enables the operator to get around the extra fees levied by mobile network carriers for international calls. Which redirects connections back into the network as local calls.
2. Afterwards, scammers collect all the profit from international calls. And it will cause losses to telecom operators. This is how scammers carry out this fraud. 
3. SIM box fraud is widespread around the world, but in areas with high call termination prices, fraudsters are drawn to take advantage of the voice traffic channels and make money for them.

Effects of This Scam on Your Business

This scam could affect your business as well which might lead to a loss of your business. If you want to protect your business from losses, understand the effects, and further, we will discuss some safety precautions that you can follow for your business.

1. Poor service quality: This impacts call quality and service by the cheap and inferior setup of using SIM boxes. They have a negative impact on the reputation, consumer trust, and customer base eroding effects on the service quality standards of telecom enterprises.
2. Damage to infrastructure: Infrastructure in the area can impact by overloading local networks. Moreover, this SIM box fraud demoralizes companies, resulting in little to no investment.
3. Financial ad revenue loss: Interconnect bypass scams are a source of criticism for telecom carriers since they frequently go undiscovered and result in financial losses. Moreover, by evading taxes and levies, these frauds deny governments of funds needed to support infrastructure and social programs.
4. Threat to national security: National security authorities, which keep an eye on criminal activity, are unable to legally intercept this frauds and connection bypass frauds. This poses a serious threat to the nation’s security.
5. Compromised security and privacy: Due to SIM box scams, genuine connections with privacy and security encryptions are compromised. making it simple for hackers to steal information. However, SMSs lose all privacy and security when they are often used to transmit sensitive information across automated channels.

What are the Safety Measures for SIM Box Fraud?

As we all know that every cyber fraud has safety techniques so this scam also has. If you want to be safe please follow these safety tips which might help you to become safe. 

1. Having a fraud management system that can identify rerouting traffic through grey channels by performing a stress test on your network or implementing real-time monitoring is essential to safeguarding your company from possible losses.
2. In addition to technical adjustments, having a solid legal team that can protect contracts with all stakeholders can lessen the impact of fraud.
3. The occurrence of fraud may decrease and your company’s efficiency can increase by using the most up-to-date forensic detection techniques with trustworthy partners.
4. Real-time and in-depth analytics, powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
5. May assist you in preventing interconnect bypass scams, securing revenue streams, and enhancing user experience.
6. Customers reporting the numbers is the only way to track such boxes.
7. You can also report the numbers to track such boxes.
8. If you fall prey to it you connect with Anuraag singh he is India’s top cyber expert. he will assist you in best way.

Conclusion 

In this blog, we discussed SIM Box fraud and how scamsters are cheating Mobile Network Companies. The way fraudsters use SIM Box to divert international calls to a cellular device via the Internet and make money is making it tough for network companies to sustain and catch these cybercriminals. Additionally, the preventive measures to stay safe from this scam are also discussed.