Fears over cyber-scam targeting businesses

BUSINESSES in the region have been hit with bills of up to £90,000 after being targeted by fraudsters who divert their phone lines to expensive premium rate numbers.
By The Newsroom
Published 10th Apr 2013, 01:01 BST

Growing numbers of firms are falling victim to “phreaking”, or “dial through fraud”, as cyber criminals exploit vulnerabilities in their telephone systems.

The scam, described as the UK’s fastest-growing deception, involves hackers accessing internal voicemail systems and diverting calls to a premium rate number. Many firms only realise what has happened when they receive a huge phone bill.

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The Sheffield-based Business Crime Reduction Centre (BCRC) says some companies have been forced to pay as much as £90,000 in recent months.

Hackers defrauded Hambleton District Council for £30,000 after attacking their phone systems using the scam on Christmas Day 2011, with hundreds of unauthorised calls made using the phone exchange at a centre operated by the council.

Coun Brian Phillips said at the time: “It came completely out of the blue. There were calls to places like Ethiopia, Bosnia and Pakistan. We were hit for £30,000.”

Phreaking, also known as “toll fraud”, costs UK firms around £1.5bn a year. BCRC director David Ransom said a number of companies in the region had approached the organisation, which offers a free security assessment for businesses, after being targeted.

He said “On the whole crime across the region has decreased. However in 2012 fraud saw a sharp rise, indicating that criminals are finding new ways to attack businesses.”