Focus on: How to combat toll fraud

Telemarketing, Nov 1995 by Aginsky, Alon

Insurance: Consider purchasing an insurance package that indemnifies against losses caused by hackers. Although they are costly and do not cover loss of business, they can protect you from horrendous fraud charges.

Communication: Stay in touch with your interconnect, and ask them to pay extra attention to uncommon telephone traffic and alert you when they notice any suspicious calling patterns.

Fighting The Toll Fraud Battle With Smarter Weapons

Getting somebody else to pay for a personal toll call is not exactly a new kind of fraud. It has been around since the early days of dial telephones. The introduction of direct "1 plus" dialing for long-distance in the late '50s just fueled the practice. And the long-distance price wars of the last decade have lowered prices so much that employees barely even consider it an infraction of company policy. Everyone knows they are not supposed to make personal long-distance calls on the company, but hey, "We're only talking pennies here."

However, the pennies add up and toll abuse has become a significant cost to every corporation. In the early '80s companies began installing toll restrictors on certain lines ahead of their KSU or PABX. Those early toll restrictors cut off calls that started with the digit "1." But some employees couldn't be stopped with such simple weapons. They knew they could still make long-distance calls through the operator. So toll restrictor manufacturers were forced back to the drawing boards. Their next models cut off the call at the first sight of either a "1," or a "O."

Then the telcos started charging for directory assistance. Unaccustomed to the practice of writing down phone numbers, employees started racking up directory assistance charges by the score. Companies quickly purchased the newest toll restrictors to eliminate the unnecessary expense of directory assistance.

The turning point in the war against toll fraud came with the introduction of "900" numbers. These calls were no longer little infractions of company policy. They were expensive. The battle was now a war and companies turned to heavier artillery.

The pressure was on manufacturers of key systems and PABXs. They soon started offering toll restriction capabilities built right into the system. With these newer systems, the company could individually program user stations either to allow or disallow long-distance calling. That too worked for a while.

But the battlefield has changed again. And by all signs, it will be in constant flux for sometime to come. Today, we are witnessing a rapid increase in the number of area codes, and local calling areas are shrinking as new exchanges are added almost daily. Some across-the-street calls are now long-distance. Yet the older systems restrict employees from making those "local" calls.

The larger PABX suppliers are offering software upgrades to handle the new requirements. But the price tag is huge. So are the costs of installation and changes. Smaller key system users are being forced to find new solutions or junk their system altogether.