SIM box Fraud: Crime that poses security threat to a country and loss of billions of dollars to the telecom operators

Now a new category of crime called SIM box fraud has turned out to be a hazard for telecom industries across the globe. In SIM box fraud international calls will appear as the calls made from a local mobile operator. This fraud not only leaves telecom operators losing billions of dollars but also pose a security threat to a country as the identity of the caller is hidden. 

Among the world, Europe, Asia and Africa are the worst hit by this fraud. Earlier several rackets running this fraud has been busted in sierra leone and Ghana. SIM boxes are legal in countries like U.K. However they granted permission on the condition that they cannot be used for commercial purpose. 

What is SIM  Box Fraud?

In SimBoxing fraud, companies install SIM boxes with various multiple low-cost prepaid SIM cards. Calls made from through the internet are directed to the SIM boxes which in turn direct VoIP (voice over internet protocol)  traffic into mobile networks to make it appear as the local number. In other words, the SIM box operator routes international calls through VoIPconnection and connect this call as local traffic. This in a way bypasses the international rates and will be levied low prices as charged by the local mobile network operators. The fraud affects the voice quality as well as the revenue of  the mobile operators 

According to a report from communications, fraud control association (CFCA) released in 2013 mentions that SIM box fraud is among the top five emerging threats to the telecom industry causing a loss of over 3 billion dollars per year. The fraud is also among the top two threats identified in a survey by anti-fraud specialist Revector along with over-the-top hijack. Mobile operators have lost up to 20% of revenue from call termination charges to 'over-the-top' call hijack frauds.

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The incident came to light in India after the arrest of a Delhi-based software engineer and his nine associates. It was discovered when Uttar Pradesh anti-terror squad and a military intelligence unit of J&K are probing on calls being made to Army officers.They have arrested Gulshan Sain the chief culprit in the racket. police have recovered 22 SIM box units, 140 prepaid SIM cards, 10 mobile phones, 28 data cards and five laptops, apart from other equipment.

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