Telecome fraud costs Cuba over 10 mln USD annually

Telecome fraud costs Cuba over 10 mln USD annually

Jun 26,2014



HAVANA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Cuba lost over 10 million U.S. dollars in

revenue a year due to fraud in telecommunications services, the National

Information Agency (AIN) reported Wednesday.



Jorge Sacre, director of the anti-fraud department at the state-run

Telecommunications Company of Cuba (Etecsa), told AIN that a

considerable number of users sought to avoid legally established traffic

channels for international calls by using new technological development

that hinders their traceability.



The most common crimes include the theft of lines belonging to

legitimate users, subscription fraud and creation of international

systems that offer an adjacent service with lower fees than those

established by legal telecom service providers, said Sacre.



These crimes can be carried out through the installation of satellite

dishes, and the use of ordinary telephone and Internet access, he said.



For every minute of call made via these alternate routes, Cuba lost 0.60

dollars in revenue, and calls originating from these sites were then

distributed through the National Communications Network as a local or

long-distance call, causing more substantial losses, said Sacre.



Cuba has a large expatriate community living in the United States, the

epicenter of global telecommunications fraud, and Cuba's proximity makes

it more vulnerable, Sacre added.



The island ranks among the 17 countries most affected by such

violations, he stressed, adding that Etecsa is working to develop fraud

detection mechanisms and various measures to blacklist users who commit

such crimes.



Source: Telecome fraud costs Cuba over 10 mln USD annually | Shanghai

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