Symbio Networks Launches World’s first SaaS Telephone Toll-Fraud Mitigation Platform
Symbio Networks, the operator of Australia’s largest IP voice network, today announced the launch of TollShield™, the world’s first SaaS telephone toll-fraud mitigation platform and the only solution on the market able to detect and block toll fraud in real-time. The solution addresses the fast-growing fraud problem, which amounted to $US46.3 billion in global losses due to fraud, according to The Communications Fraud Control Association’s 2013 report.
A patent-pending SaaS solution that can be deployed in any provider’s network, TollShield™ works in real-time to detect and block fraud as it is happening. Since fraud continuously evolves, TollShield™ also self-learns to respond to new kinds of fraud techniques, matching fraudsters step-for-step.
“Our research and development team were tasked with finding an innovative solution to toll fraud. They’ve done just that. TollShield™ is the first-to-market prevention tool that marks a new era in fraud mitigation – cloud-based, SaaS, real-time and effective,” explained Rene Sugo, CEO of Symbio Networks. “TollShield™ allows providers to detect fraud while it is still in flight – so they can stop it before it runs into the hundreds or thousands of dollars. And when you do that every hour of every day that can save millions.”
The market for toll fraud mitigation is growing. In recent years the number of Tier 2 and emerging voice providers has increased: rich pickings for global toll fraud syndicates. “Often emerging CSPs are growing so fast that their legacy mitigation tools can’t keep up. They may rely on manual review processes or catch-all blacklists that simply aren’t viable. Effective fraud mitigation demands scalability and rapid response,” said Mr Sugo.
TollShield™ is already deployed in several global neworks, including CallPlus, New Zealand’s third largest telco and broadband provider, and on Symbio’s own network. TollShield™ has blocked 600,000 toll fraud calls across 121 countries over the past 12 months on the Symbio network, delivering around $AUD130,000 in savings to end users from prevented toll fraud.
Another recent customer, Dee Telecom from Thailand is deploying TollShield™ as a first line of defence against toll fraud. “TollShield™ caught our attention as an innovative solution to a growing threat. Toll fraud is an ever-present risk, with the potential to cost our network and clients considerable unnecessary expense,” Dee Telecom Vice President, Mr John Clark said.
“TollShield™ will be our first line of defence against toll fraud by providing a new level of visibility and blocking capacity. We also look forward to increased peace of mind from knowing the solution will self-learn to respond to emerging fraud techniques in the future,” continued Mr Clark.
Toll fraud is a costly, fast-growing menace to telco providers all across the world. Typically, fraudsters attack a phone network, route traffic to international destinations for their own profit, and leave the phone provider with a very large unexpected bill. Fraud types encompass a spectrum of ever-evolving methods: subscription fraud, PBX hacking, identity theft and more.
Most importantly, toll fraud is carried out so swiftly that telcos don’t realise they’ve been robbed - until it’s too late. To date, efforts to combat toll fraud have largely been reactive – parsing call records ‘after the fact’ to identify toll fraud, or even being alerted to it by customer disputes over bills.
Although toll fraud is usually caused by a phone user’s failure to secure their router, it is typically the operator that carries the main financial loss as customers refuse to pay for toll fraud generated bills. A large business customer refusing to pay their bill could financially wipe out a small telco. Reputational damage is another facet to consider, with negative word-of-mouth often an equally potent risk for telcos.
The TollShield™ platform has been purpose-built for the global carriage industry. The platform can be rapidly deployed and scaled via a series of network probes, centrally managed by SaaS. Each probe is capable of parsing fraud in one billion calls per month, without impacting call setup. If fraud is detected, network operations staff receive a real-time alert, containing a ‘snapshot’ pinpointing the incident.
This new, proactive approach should be a game-changer for global telecom providers who have previously only been able to deploy after-the-fact fraud mitigation tools. By pushing the right information, to the right people, in near real-time, TollShield™ empowers even the smallest CSPs to work more effectively against toll fraud.
TollShield™ is available to any global voice network operator and carriers worldwide via Symbio Networks domestically and TNZI internationally.
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About Symbio Networks™
Symbio Networks™ is Australia's largest IP Voice carrier, and part of the fast-growing MNF Group which is publicly listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Through the development arm of Symbio Networks™, the MyNetFone Group (ASX:MNF) continuously invests in R&D to create world-class IP Voice technologies that enhance global carriage.
About MyNetFone
MyNetFone Group Limited (ASX:MNF) owns and operates carrier-grade network infrastructure, delivering robust IP voice services in Australia, New Zealand and across the globe. The Group’s global voice networks carrier 6 Billion minutes of voice per annum and provides wholesale carrier services to the Australian and international communications industry.
MyNetFone was founded in 2004 and listed on the ASX in mid 2006. It has a reputation for quality, value and innovation, having won numerous awards including the Forbes Asia’s 200 Best Under a Billion (2014, 2015), Deloitte Technology Fast 50 (2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014), PC User Product of the Year (2005), Money Magazine Product of the Year (2007) and many others.
MyNetFone Group of companies includes retail brands MyNetFone, Connexus, CallStream, PennyTel and The Buzz; and wholesale brands TNZI, Symbio Networks, iBoss and TollShield.
For further information about the MyNetFone please visit: http://mnfgroup.limited/