Telecommunications

Telecom providers are bound by strict rules and are experiencing difficult times. Because fraud is rampant in the sector, specialised fraud departments are getting more and more attention and clout. Graydon arms these teams to successfully fight against fraud. 

Telecommunications Aerial

Millions of pounds in depreciation

Thousands of frauds are committed each year in hardware installation as well as smartphones. Companies disappear with the expensive and easily-traded materials without paying. Credit checks are commonplace in the telecommunications industry, but they are not enough to expose rogue companies. If a new customer presents themselves at a location outside office hours, the local sales team will carry out a few targeted checks, but these are often insufficient to detect fraud. 

It costs providers untold amounts of money. Not only on the hardware loss, but also with all kinds of activities related to it (transport, administration, accounting, etc.). It forces providers to write off millions of pounds every year. So, it’s logical that the telecoms sector wants to tackle fraudsters. The question is why this took so long.

Weaponising data and insights

But change is on the way. A number of players are now armed with data and insights from Graydon to further optimise the acceptance flow and detect fraud more quickly. The fraud model developed by Graydon is an excellent tool for pain relief that has existed in the telecom sector for years. Rogue companies, in which figures are artificially embellished, are not new. A properly designed onboarding procedure goes further than a credit check and takes all kinds of elements into account. The result clearly indicates when a customer can be accepted or rejected or when further investigation is required.

New write-offs on the way

The coronavirus crisis and the measures that have been taken against it, pose additional challenges for this sector. It saddles the powerless telecom players with an endless list of customers with deferred payments, installment plans and new defaulters to chase. Because one day a time will come when government measures will stop and all bills will have to be paid. Providers will then have to carry out a huge number of checks to determine whether postponement of payment is still permitted. Perhaps a wave of companies will also collapse. The telecom sector therefore has no time to lose if it is to tackle fraud in a targeted manner. They must be vigilant for fraud by individuals with criminal intent and others who engage in liquidity fraud because they are severely affected by the current corona crisis.