(From left) CEO of Utel, Frode Gorseth, Chief Sales Officer of Telenor Global Services, Tone Snellingen, Sr. Product Manager Fraud Solutions, Endre Syvertsen.
When your industry is losing almost $40 billion USD a year to criminals, turning a collective blind eye shouldn’t really be an option, or so you’d think. And let’s be clear, that sum is no exaggeration. Where telecoms fraud is concerned, the losses really are that big. According to the Communications Fraud Control Association’s (CFCA) 2021 annual survey, total global telecom revenues were estimated to be approximately USD 1.8 Trillion last year. The total amount of loss due to fraud was estimated to be 2.22% of revenues or $39.89 Billion (1).
Worryingly, as the sizeable dollar amount that continues to leak away suggests, many Communications Service Providers struggle to get to grips with the problem of fraud (or, alternatively, perhaps some simply accept it and write off the loss). That’s a mistake, both because today most fraudulent schemes can be effectively countered with the latest fraud prevention technology and also because there’s a significant financial gain from doing so. Innovative CSPs deploying effective anti-fraud technologies are showing (and leading) the way.
Among them, Telenor Global Services provides a case study in how to lead the way. In 2020, the operator stopped over 200 million questionable call attempts that had a combined estimated value above 30 million USD. That’s in large part because the company put its foot down. Telenor has implemented a zero-tolerance policy towards the fraudsters. And clearly, it’s working.