Talking Toll Fraud with Tollring at BroadSoft Connections

BroadSoft Connections 2017: Tollring tell us how they're securing today's calls

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TollringFraud
Data & Analytics

Published: November 1, 2017

Rob Scott

Rob Scott

Recently, I had the unique opportunity to sit down with Tony Martino, the MD for Tollring, to talk about how the company is leading the charge against the problem of toll fraud across the globe today. Tollring has emerged as a competitive and powerful company within the fraud and credit management system, thanks in part to their extensive history within the analytics sector.

Tony told me all about the latest Tollring software, and what differentiates the company from other businesses on the market that are currently supporting solutions for fraud prevention, detection, and management.

Tell Us About Tollring’s New Fraud Software

The first thing I wanted to know from Tony, was what the new toll fraud software from Tollring can accomplish. Martino told me that the latest release is Tollring’s response to a gap in the market when it came to offering a credit management and fraud solution that empowered the channel to participate proactively in reducing the fraud element around hosted PBX.

“We’ve only really started to work in this space during the last 3 years, but obviously our extensive knowledge around analytics made it a natural progression for us. Fraud management solutions in the past have been very much NOC-level products. They sit in the background and check basic information on a lower level. However, we thought there was a much easier way to manage toll fraud, by giving the analytics engines around the PBX the chance to profile the call behaviours of end customers and make informed decisions based on those learning patterns.”

Intelligent Fraud Detection, Prevention and Notification

Obviously, toll fraudr software isn’t exactly a new solution to the marketplace. With that in mind, I was keen to know what Tollring have been doing differently to set themselves apart from their competitors. Tony told me that first, the cloud had allowed the business to do a lot more with the product, installing probing software to look at the information that comes in a more centralised space around cloud PBXs.

“We’re in a strong position because of our extensive database. We’re pulling data from sources like “Prism”, a collection of international revenue share numbers. Institutions like ITSPA also keep an eye on black-listed numbers, so we can augment our data around these systems, and keep our global systems constantly updated with the most relevant information.”

Tony went on to say that the process delivered by Tollring is different to what might be available from their competitors.

“Our solution involves looking at the end call – beyond SIP registration messages and IP addresses. By profiling our end customer, we can understand exactly what their calling pattern looks like, and flag issues when something odd shows up. We can also give our resellers a chance to log into the portal, access the tool, and set their own parameters according to customer needs. After all, they know their customers more than anyone else.”

Once they have a thorough understanding of the customer Tollring can then set tariff values on a per-user basis.

So, That’s Detection, but What About Prevention?

Tollring pride themselves on offering a comprehensive solution for fraud and credit management. Up until this point, we’d talked about the detection part, but not the prevention elements. Tony told me:

“We developed the protection element alongside the BroadSoft BroadWorks platform. We’ve done a lot of interoperability with BroadSoft and Mitel, and we have numerous partners that use that technology. We’ve API’d into those platforms to cut live calls, and proactively shut calls down if a hacker is penetrating a system. Once we’ve detected the fraud, we close the calls that were live down and then cut off international calls for that customer. That’s a unique thing that we can offer – cutting calls down for one user at a time.”

Tollring target the call right down to the customer experiencing the fraud, proactively addressing the situation, shutting down the calls, and sending out notifications to inform everyone on the network. “It’s detection, prevention, and notification”.

So How are You Adapting to Changes in Fraud Patterns?

One of the biggest areas for toll fraud right now can be found in shared revenue numbers, both in long and short-duration calls.

“We’re seeing more call pumping in the market now – almost like a DDoS attack. By proactively monitoring what’s going on in each call, our service provider partners can feel more comfortable. After all, with SIP trunking now more popular than ever, there are more opportunities for fraudulent attacks than ever before.”

In Tony’s opinion, the vetting process for onboarding customers could benefit from being more stringent. After all, everyone wants a sale, but due diligence might be overlooked in some cases.

“For us, it’s all about looking at who’s phoning where, and profiling. In some cases, it may be that the system registers a low-risk destination that’s being called frequently, so the analytics kick in. The analytics part is very important. We don’t just target the end, but look at the full cycle for the customers.”

The ability to rectify mistaken blocks is also available through the Tollring system. Resellers and users can receive an alert and unlock a number via a link in their email. Ideal for engineers on call or 24/7 NOCs.

“The only way you can proactively deal with the problem of toll fraud right now is to involve as many people as you can in the whole process. That’s where we’ve seen a real difference in our solution compared to others.”

So, What’s the Best Advice You Can Give to Resellers and Service Providers?

Tony recommended that resellers should be looking more carefully at the platforms that they’re bringing their customers onto.

“I think there’s a lot of services out there on the market for you to onboard your customers with, but it’s important to be informed on what each service provider offers. Just do your due diligence and take it seriously.”

For service providers, Tony suggested that systems like the one that Tollring can offer really does need to be in place to ensure security.

“It’s about being proactive and allowing the channel to manage calls more. Rather than a NOC-based product that only goes so far, it’s important to have a more analytic-based solution.”

Tollring have already seen significant success in the marketplace with their fraud management platform. Recently, they released their BT case study, where their fraud management solution has been deployed throughout all the future cloud telephony within British Telecom.

 

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