To commit International Revenue Share Fraud you need a premium rate number to dial. So which locations are home to the most International Premium Rate Numbers (IPRNs)? Fraudstrike has published a handy list of the top 15 destinations per recent advertising. Cuba tops the list for both March and April. Look here for the rest.
Fraudstrike Publishes Top IPRN Destinations
The 15 most popular countries for International Premium Rate Numbers (IPRNs) were determined by surveying recent adverts.
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Eric I notice East Timor makes the list, do you have any insights on that? Most of the others are one’s I would already expect it from.
It’s due to the complete lack of regulation – instead of reserving a specific number range for premium rate services, any number range can be used, and Timor Telecom, which already charges some of the highest termination rates in the world, is happy to turn a blind eye.
There is a huge amount of unused numbering space because when the telephone numbering plan was first devised, it gave three times as much space to fixed line phones (almost non-existent outside the capital) as to mobiles.
The National Communications Authority of Timor-Leste’s website (still ‘being developed’ after three years) doesn’t list a telephone number or email address. The country has come on a long way, but this does nothing to challenge the ‘failed state’ stereotype.
As a result, it’s now common for companies to block all calls to East Timor, meaning that people who want and need to call the country from abroad are unable to do so. Skype charges $1.75 a minute, but even then you can’t get through, while being charged for ir.
The irony is that even those who defended Timor Telecom’s former monopoly, use Skype or Viber themselves, a case of ‘do as I say’, not as I do. Of course, the more they use VoIP services, the less revenue Timor Telecom and its competitors get from phone calls.