Small retail telcos, and small countries, are vulnerable to international telecoms fraud. A smaller telco will inevitably employ smaller fraud management teams than their bigger peers, but that does not mean they suffer any less variety of fraud. Fraudsters are like jackals, preferring to attack the weakest in the herd. When they find a flaw in a telco’s fraud protection strategy, they will exploit it as rapidly as they can. Losses can be dramatic, and fraudsters do not care if they overwhelm the two or three people working in a small telco’s fraud management team. The knock-on consequences can be equally dramatic. There may be irresistible demands to block international traffic, both fraudulent and legitimate. Such blocking will adversely impact both ordinary people and national economies, as well as denying the telco some honest revenue.
Jan Dingenouts is an expert in the fields of carrier services and fraud management. After working for both small retail telcos and global wholesale carriers, Jan now provides freelance consulting services to telcos that want to improve their management of international traffic and reduce the fraud they suffer. He believes it is key for wholesalers to adopt a fraud management philosophy which is also designed to shield their retail partners, and that such arrangements will benefit both parties. We asked Jan to join us on the podcast, to explain the consequences of fraud, why wholesalers should protect retail telcos, and how small retail telcos can negotiate a better deal with international carriers. During the interview, Jan supported his arguments with a lot of real-life examples, drawn from across his career. After listening to Jan’s insights, you can find out more by emailing Jan directly.
Dan Baker also joined me on the podcast, as my new co-host. Dan has a formidable track record as a researcher and journalist. The revamped podcast will benefit greatly from his experience as an interviewer of specialists who work in and around telecoms systems and services.
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