Mobile Phone Fraud Management
Telcos yet to upgrade system despite BTRC order
The country’s mobile phone operators are yet to upgrade their fraud management system after nine months of issuance of a directive by the telecom regulator to detect criminal activities through mobile phones. Bangladesh Telecommunication regulatory Commission officials said unavailability or inefficiency of the mobile operators in maintaining the FMS was allowing several fraud and criminal activities.
They said the BTRC on December 12, 2013 asked all mobile operators — Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi, Airtel, Citycell and state-owned Teletalk — to introduce or upgrade their FMS to prevent spamming, spoofing, identity theft and transaction fraudulence.
‘The operators might have some kind of FMS but those are not updated and the criminal activities through mobile phone are increasing. The law enforcement agencies are having difficulties tracking and detecting criminals because of lack of FMS of the operators,’ a BTRC official told New Age recently.
He said most of the operators were yet to start the process of upgrading their FMS.
According to BTRC officials, criminals are engaged in various types of fraudulent activities through mobile phone.
‘Mobile users often get deceived by responding to anonymous calls that they will get high-value prize by recharging some amount on a specific number or criminals demand ransom through mobile phones. Even financial crimes through mobile phones are also reported by users. But when the law enforcement agencies investigate they often lose track because of lack of FMS of the operators,’ another BTRC official said.
The BTRC directive said the operators would not allow any international calls and SMS using the country’s international dialling code +880 excluding roaming users with proper authorisation.
It also said the mobile operators would be technically and legally liable for any fraudulent activities using their network.
The mobile phone operators would also have to take preventive and proactive measures to detect and dissolve criminal activities through their network and inform the government immediately, it said.
The BTRC directive, however, did not specify any time to comply with the directive.
Asked about the issue Grameenphone, the country’s largest mobile phone operator, said it was at the last stage of upgrading its FMS.
‘We are at the final stage of upgrading our exiting FMS according to BTRC directive. I hope the new FMS will come into operation in December,’ GP chief corporate affairs officer Mahmud Hossain told New Age on Sunday.
Robi spokesman Mohiuddin Babar said his company was working on the matter.
‘We are very serious about the fraud management system and continuously working for betterment,’ he said.
A senior official of a telecom company, however, said that the BTRC in the directive had said that it would issue a separate and elaborated directive on the matter.
‘In some matter we need more clarification regarding FMS but the BTRC is yet to issue the directive,’ he said.
Asked about the issue a senior BTRC official said there was no such move to formulate the elaborated directive on FMS at the moment.
-With New Age input
