Mobile fraud: to wait for help from operators?

Statistics of reading my recent material on mobile frauds (forgive, Habra, it happened :() showed that this topic is extremely relevant. In this regard, I found it necessary to give an opportunity to express my position to those whose hands have a real opportunity to stick a stick in the scammers .



Operators are facing a dilemma today. On the one hand, the VAS services market is potentially very profitable. And, importantly, scammers repeatedly increase this advantage. Of course, operators are commercial enterprises, and there is no such crime that no capital would make for super-profit. Consequently, operators are in search of the golden mean, which will ensure maximum profitability. It may well be that getting rid of frauds will increase the confidence in subscribers' VAS services and allow them to spend more than they do now - so much more that growth compensates for the disappearance of profits associated with fraudulent services.



I asked each of the Big Three operators a few questions regarding the current state of affairs and planned actions. Unfortunately, I was not able to get comments from MegaFon. Nevertheless, MTS and Beeline gave their answers, and this is the ground for reflection.



How many calls per day come from subscribers in the Moscow region about fraud?

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Beeline: At the end of last year, on average, there were about 1,500–1,800 requests a day for fraud. In January and February of this year, the number of calls to the CPC Beeline with this problem fluctuates at the level of 1000-1200 per day.

In the Moscow region, the figures for daily calls for January 2010 significantly exceed this figure for Russia as a whole: on average, it is 700-800 complaints per day compared to 50-60-80 calls in other regions.

MTS: Recently, the number of complaints has decreased significantly.

The decrease in the number of complaints about fraud in recent times can be explained by various reasons. First, it was at the end of last year that the peak of infections with the Trojan.Winlock virus occurred, after which a sharp decline began. Secondly, it is possible that due to the actualization of the problem, the operators decided to treat any suspicions in favor of the subscribers (after all, the statistics speak about the case of fraud, recognized as such by the support service of the operator). Finally, one cannot deny the possibility that alleviating the problem of fraud is really the result of effective actions by operators.



What is the percentage distribution of complaints under various fraud schemes?

Beeline: The operators of the CPC do not keep such statistics, they enter only the category of the appeal - fraud, and then indicate the essence of the appeal in the notes. Therefore, a breakdown by type of fraud is not possible. We only note that, according to our CPC, the most frequent reasons for appeals are such types of fraud as unlocking a computer from the Trojan.Winlock virus and various kinds of requests to transfer funds: “Error payment” and “Call on behalf of the operator” - people, as a rule they do not immediately understand that they have communicated with the scammers, and go to make money transfers through the terminals or enter the USSD command to make a mobile translation at the direction of the scammer.

MTS: There are many assumptions about the greater or lesser popularity of various fraudulent schemes, but there is no clear distribution. Fraudsters survive only due to the rapid change in the methods of deceiving subscribers and the development of new fraudulent schemes that consumers have not yet been warned about and which may not cause them to suspect.

What can I say? The topic of fraud with short numbers really caused a resonance in the blogosphere - among those people who are sufficiently savvy and do not peck at classic tricks. The fact that the progressive part of subscribers does not seriously consider fraud with the proposal to transfer money to someone else’s number does not mean that these schemes are no longer valid. Those who still believe people need to continue to grow stale and become deaf to other people's misfortunes, because most likely this trouble will turn out to be fake.



What measures apply to content providers who receive a large number of complaints?

Beeline: For two years now we have been applying tougher sanctions - we block short numbers and expose significant fines for every confirmed case of fraud. In fact, the problem with short numbers, in our opinion, is greatly exaggerated: we receive about 80-100 complaints a month throughout Russia for this type of fraud, but not thousands, as can be found in some sources. According to our data, there are about 15 of the most popular short numbers, which receive the most complaints from subscribers (incorrect indication of the cost of the service and, as a result, greater withdrawal of funds, unwanted "automatic subscription" to services, etc.).



Over the past three months, we sent written instructions about the incorrect work of services / cost of services to 5 providers, blocked short numbers more than 20 times in accordance with customer complaints, and regularly provide information about content providers at the request of law enforcement agencies.



Nevertheless, seeing that the topic is relevant both in the media and in social networks, since February 2010 we decided to tighten sanctions for unscrupulous content providers, whose short numbers were used to commit fraudulent actions: a clause on the collection of fines was entered into partnership agreements comparable in size with the monthly revenue of the partner in this short number. We think this measure will force our partners to conduct more thorough control measures among their subcontractors, to whom short numbers are sublet.

MTS: In recent months, we have fined several of the largest content aggregators for substantial sums. On short numbers, where, along with popular and popular services among subscribers, there was a surge in the promotion of fraudulent services, we quickly connect the functionality of the confirmation request from the subscriber, using which the subscriber is notified in advance about the cost of the service. And we have completely suspended the work of some short numbers.

Of course, content providers who rent short numbers will turn a blind eye to the crimes of their subtenants, as long as the profit rate is higher than the fines. The effectiveness of this measure depends entirely on the determination of the operators.



If a complaint is received about a specific fraud, then other subscribers who have become its victim receive their money back automatically?

Beeline: The fact is that both correct and fraudulent services can work on one short number, because content providers can sublet short numbers, and when the service develops, it can have hundreds of services and thousands of content . Everything - there is simply no technical ability to monitor. Yes, and expediency. Nevertheless, we assume that our content providers are bona fide partners. As soon as complaints are received, we block the short number entirely until the inconsistencies are eliminated to the terms of the contract. But, I repeat, we can track the fraud only on request from the subscriber himself, who complained of fraudulent actions, if we checked the partner service and found out that the subscriber was right. After that we can return the money to the account. That is, for a specific application.

MTS: We have no grounds for such an automatic return. Fraudulent services periodically appear on short numbers, which, apart from fraudulent ones, provide a large number of popular high-quality content services, sell pictures, music and other content. The reason for the refund can only be a statement of the subscriber from whose account the money was written off.

It remains a mystery what exactly prevents operators from collecting information about specific prefixes to which messages are sent. As you know, a technical problem is a problem that they don’t want to solve.



Does your company plan to introduce the “Ban short number” plugin service?

Beeline: We will look at the market. While we do not see a strong demand for such services among subscribers - again, we say that the number of complaints about fraud with short numbers is small. As a rule, all the information about the cost and services on a short number at the subscriber before the eyes - you just need to read it and evaluate whether you need such a service or not.



In addition, we doubt that such a service in its paid version of the implementation will be in demand among subscribers. Still, 150 rubles (the monthly cost of the service (probably means the price of the service of prohibiting short numbers for MegaFon subscribers - irubtsov )) is often the average monthly subscriber bill.



At the same time, we offer other effective ways to protect yourself from fraud on short numbers - this is the section on the Beeline website called “Beware scammers!” With the most popular types of fraud and recommendations, how not to become a victim of scams, this is an opportunity call the CPC and clarify information about the cost and types of services provided on the short number (the website also has this information).

MTS: We limit access to paid content for subscribers whose cost control is most difficult for those who pay their bills - these are corporate clients and children. This service is connected to corporate TPs and to Klassny TP - this tariff, developed taking into account the interests and psychology of children and adolescents, has a unique specialized WAP portal for children with a wide choice of games, pictures, videos and for a low fixed monthly fee.

Indeed, the course of MegaFon looks very strange and looks more like a desperate struggle for ARPU. However, it is not a fact that it is necessary to dismiss the demand for the service as such. The subscriber can be calm only when he has full control over his account. I repeat, with my own, and not just above the account of my child.



Are there any plans to introduce a service for obtaining information on the actual price of an SMS / call to a short number, for example, by sending a special request by SMS to this number? (The question is addressed to Beeline, since MTS already offers the Info Content service)

Beeline: We focus on the information campaign, guided by the principle: "Forewarned is forearmed." To do this, we conduct active informing of subscribers through the press, gather round tables with the participation of experts, create a special information resource “Beware scammers!” On the company's corporate website. In our opinion, the main problems are calls on behalf of the operator and various kinds of requests to transfer money. The problem with the non-transparent indication of the cost of the content has been solved in our case by publishing correct information about the cost of the service and its content on the company's website (in the "Be sure" section). In addition, when a subscriber applies to a claim, we can check the information and return the money to him if the content provider’s fraud is confirmed.



In addition, almost every content provider who collaborates with Beeline has user support. Sometimes subscribers did not understand the terms of service for short numbers or downloaded the content incorrectly, did not see the terms of service or ordered the content, but did not receive it. In these cases, it is premature to conclude that the subscriber has become a victim of fraudulent actions of the content provider itself. We, as an operator, do not always have the opportunity to deal with the problem of the user of content services, while the aggregator has all the necessary tools for this, including the ability to find out the reason for the non-receipt of content. The subscriber can contact the content provider directly, and he must deal with the complaint.

I can not agree that the company's website is a sufficient source of information. Still, users of the Network in Russia are slightly less mobile subscribers. Yes, and they do not always have access to the Internet at hand.



Do you plan to introduce a scheme with a request to confirm the order of the service by a short number? (The question is addressed to Beeline, since such a scheme has already been implemented by MTS for some numbers - see the next question)

Beeline: Again, we will look at the market. We are likely to follow the path of closer cooperation with CPA partners to develop joint actions to limit fraud on short numbers.

Will the scheme with the request to confirm the order of the service by a short number be extended to all numbers, and not to individual (most expensive / “fraudulent”)? (The question is addressed to MTS)

MTS: We will include an SMS notification about the real cost of the service on those rooms that are suspicious of fraud, until the provider corrects the situation. This is a necessary measure, the confirmation request from the subscriber is installed on the "dangerous" numbers that are mentioned in the complaints of subscribers for fraud. If you use this scheme in all rooms, then many services, such as SMS chat, will be very difficult to use.

Constant monitoring of the degree of "riskiness" of various short numbers is a boast. Indeed, the constant requests for confirmation will make communication in SMS-chat simply unbearable. Maybe it is worth inverting the policy: create a white list of numbers for which order confirmation is not required?



Will there be any promotions (for Beeline: in addition to creating the site safe.beeline.ru) to inform subscribers about existing fraud schemes and recommended actions?

Beeline: Of course. The topic is extremely topical and not losing its relevance. It is necessary to say that we evaluate the topic of mobile fraud as one of the social risks that the company faces in the course of its development, and we identified these risks for ourselves back in 2008, when we were the first on the market to conduct a major study on this topic and decided on work at the highest level with this topic and go with it to subscribers, thereby demonstrating a responsible approach to business.



In 2008, 50 round tables were held throughout Russia, where experts in various fields evaluated and fixed possible risks for cellular users and offered specific recommendations for subscribers on how to minimize these risks.

MTS: We were the first of the “Big Three” to launch the Infocontent service in Russia, which allows subscribers to get information on short numbers and paid links. We are already conducting newsletters for our subscribers about this service, telling subscribers who have contacted the contact center about it, placing a directory of short numbers on the MTS website, preparing a special section with information on the types of fraud and how not to be caught by the scam.

What other measures will your company take in the near future to combat mobile fraud?

Beeline: We have planned a number of activities that we are not ready to announce now, so that these measures are effective. But once again we want to note that it is extremely important to find out as much as possible about fraudulent schemes, analyze the messages coming to you, recheck information received from unknown people. The operator assumes the function of informing, consolidating and summarizing information, so that the subscriber is required to exercise only caution, awareness and vigilance. These are the foundations of life safety in our modern society, and the cellular communication is not an exception here, and today it has become a social phenomenon. As an analogy: when we talk about the “bases” on the roads, we assume that the driver should know a certain mechanism of action, certain recommendations on how not to get into this unpleasant situation, and this is perceived normally, as the driver’s responsibility is to be knowledgeable and careful , realizing that there is this kind of fraud.



The same with a cell phone owner - there are certain rules. Beeline initiated their production in 2008, in 2009 it actively promoted it, in 2010 it made it as accessible as possible. It remains to call on all of our subscribers - learn more and be more protected.

MTS: On the one hand, we are tightening the requirements for content providers about the quality of services provided, the implementation of partner schemes, rules for promoting services and information and technical support for subscribers, apply penalties to content providers who have allowed fraudulent services to appear short numbers. On the other hand, we are developing new technical schemes for promptly closing access to suspicious services at the time of their detection, improving the technology of informing subscribers about the real cost of the service when it is ordered.

Should support service operators provide subscribers with a list of premium sites or traffic cost information for a specific premium site? (The question is addressed to Beeline, since MTS provides full information about the addresses of premium resources on its website)

Beeline: Of course, they should. Moreover, it is written in the procedure.

Let me remind you that the practice refuted this statement: the operator of the support service offered to follow the marks on the visited sites and, accordingly, pay for the pleasure of knowing that the paid site has already been visited.



How is your company going to deal with dishonest schemes for generating premium traffic (for example, publishing images from a premium site on publicly available popular resources - so that the visitor will not guess about the true source of content)?

Beeline: At the level of technology, we can not catch it, and theoretically such a scheme of fraud is possible. We ourselves sometimes monitor, and if we discover something, we block and apply sanctions. But there is no opportunity to monitor the entire Internet. So if the subscriber complained - check and penalize.

MTS: The same as with other fraudulent services.

If a fraud scheme is possible, then it will definitely be used. This is the law of life. In 99% of cases, subscribers will not notice excessive write-offs, they will decide that there are simply too many navsevorfili. And that means no statements. So we are waiting for a wave of fraud with premium traffic. Get ready!