Telecome fraud costs Cuba over 10 mln USD annually

Telecome fraud costs Cuba over 10 mln USD annually
Jun 26,2014

HAVANA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Cuba lost over 10 million U.S. dollars in
revenue a year due to fraud in telecommunications services, the National
Information Agency (AIN) reported Wednesday.

Jorge Sacre, director of the anti-fraud department at the state-run
Telecommunications Company of Cuba (Etecsa), told AIN that a
considerable number of users sought to avoid legally established traffic
channels for international calls by using new technological development
that hinders their traceability.

The most common crimes include the theft of lines belonging to
legitimate users, subscription fraud and creation of international
systems that offer an adjacent service with lower fees than those
established by legal telecom service providers, said Sacre.

These crimes can be carried out through the installation of satellite
dishes, and the use of ordinary telephone and Internet access, he said.

For every minute of call made via these alternate routes, Cuba lost 0.60
dollars in revenue, and calls originating from these sites were then
distributed through the National Communications Network as a local or
long-distance call, causing more substantial losses, said Sacre.

Cuba has a large expatriate community living in the United States, the
epicenter of global telecommunications fraud, and Cuba's proximity makes
it more vulnerable, Sacre added.

The island ranks among the 17 countries most affected by such
violations, he stressed, adding that Etecsa is working to develop fraud
detection mechanisms and various measures to blacklist users who commit
such crimes.

Source: Telecome fraud costs Cuba over 10 mln USD annually | Shanghai
Daily - http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=226532