Ignoring the threat of telephone fraud could cost you thousands: Take these preventative steps now

Telephone system fraud is on the increase and costs UK businesses millions every year. It can happen when you least expect it and to an aspect of your business you never really thought about protecting.

Cyber crime is constantly a hot topic and with the introduction of GDPR, we more aware of how we can sufficiently protect your IT systems.

As the peak holiday season is upon us, have you given the threat of telephone fraud serious consideration?

Telephone system fraud is an attempt by hackers to gain unlawful access to your telephone system. It typically occurs where hackers dial through externally and make high numbers of calls, usually to international destinations. The fraudulent activity is most likely to occur at vulnerable times. For example, out of office hours, over weekends and during public holidays.

Unusual call traffic, difficulty to get through to an outbound number and individual calls of a high value can all be indicators that your phone system has been hacked.

So, what preventative steps can you take to protect yourself?

1. Make sure your password is a strong one and ensure it is changed from the default setting.

2. Check with your telephone system provider which levels of fraud protection they offer. Having the correct amount of protection for the type of system your office operates with gives you peace of mind.

3. Limit access to maintenance ports

4. For any employees who are leaving or have left the company, make sure their passwords are changed or even deleted.

5. Limit an individual employee’s ability to make international calls, if they don’t have a requirement to make such calls.

6. Review all bills thoroughly on a regular basis.

7. Make sure you have a good understanding of your telephone system and restrict access to aspects of it which you don’t use.

8. Keep an eye out for unusually high call traffic especially during out of office hours and over public holidays.

9. Make sure any unused mailboxes are secure and if necessary, change the default pin.

10. Check the VOIP registrations to your network. Do you need to limit them?

Fifteen Group supply NEC telephone systems that are in built with Toll Fraud Protection. This features in the following systems:
• SV9100
• SV8100
• SL1000
• SL1100
• SL2100

These give our clients peace of mind that they’re protected from any possible attacks.

Always check with your provider, which type of protection is available for your system.