In the wake of Covid-19, businesses around the world were forced to quickly adapt to the new reality the pandemic had brought in 2020. For safety, a majority of non-essential workers began remote work, and a considerable portion continue to telecommute. As more people were home, traffic volumes in call centres rose. Companies sizes shrunk to account for losses in profits or the new telecommuting model. Most of all, people were scared by these unprecedented times and all of the rapid changes required to fight the pandemic. These circumstances present plenty of opportunity for fraud, appropriately dubbed 'COVID 19 fraud'. Experts do believe that while North America is no longer in a state of emergency, the virus is continuously active and still poses a threat. ¹ Therefore, it is vital to be informed of COVID 19 fraud to protect yourself and your loved ones.

How Carriers Have Been Impacted

A survey published in July 2020 by Total Telecom, a global telecom reporter, provides insight into the experiences of service providers and carriers during the pandemic. This survey was published a few months after World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, a pivotal moment in global response. ²

• 75% of carriers had experienced new types of fraud
• 61% of carriers had reported an increase in threat to network security
• 47% have noticed a trend of increasing fraud since the beginning of the pandemic
• 55% have declared to change their approach with customer interactions to ensure brand integrity and image³

Trends in Covid-19 Fraud

In general, as telecommunications traffic volume increases, it presents more opportunity for fraud. Opportunity for crime, coupled with ever evolving technology, results in fraud rising each year despite the virus. However, the pandemic disproportionality increased fraud as people faced economic hardships and income drops. As a majority of companies transitioned to remote work, there was direct influx of PBX hacking, targeting the private telephone systems of enterprises. Robocalls posed a serious problem and became the main avenue for committing scams. Calls offering testing, personal protective equipment, pandemic updates, job opportunities and even loans victimize an already fearful population. Fraud prevention in this instance is complex, as real government agencies use automated calls to deliver important messages. Carriers formed call registries containing known fraudulent numbers that would be blocked from reaching their end destination. However, scammers rose to the challenge and utilized one of the most prevalent methods of scam in the US and Canada-illegal caller ID spoofing. Scammers would pose as reputable government and non-profit agencies to gain sensitive information and/or money from victims. This renders the registries useless and scam robocalls persist. Other forms of fraud that saw an increase are: impersonating charities to solicit donations, impersonating organizations conducting a survey to obtain sensitive information and selling fake vaccines and other fraudulent medication. Scammers even go as far as falsely asserting that a victim's loved one has contracted and is in need of financial assistance.

Response to COVID 19 Fraud

As per the ACFE, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, in order to respond to the new wave of fraud, carriers have begun implementing innovate measures. The 2022 Anti-Fraud Technology Benching Report states that 43% of enterprises leveraged data analytics in fighting fraud during the pandemic.⁴ The report also projected the use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to more than double in the following two years. ⁵ Although 60% of organizations expect to increase their anti-fraud technology budgets, budgets and financial concerns continue to be the largest concern in implementing anti-fraud technology. That' s where SIPSTACK comes in! By driving authentic data through our AI/ML models, SIPSTACK provides its clients with the utmost security. This is done at an affordable price in the larger effort to eradicate fraudulent and spam calling globally. Contact us to learn more.

References

^{1 https://www.lung.org/blog/epidemic-pandemic-endemic-covid
2 https://ipac-canada.org/coronavirus-resources#
3 https://totaltele.com/telecom-fraud-and-security-threats-significantly-increased-since-the-covid-19-outbreak/
4 https://www.acfe.com/fraud-resources/anti-fraud-technology-benchmarking-report
5 https://www.acfe.com/fraud-resources/anti-fraud-technology-benchmarking-report}