SIM box

VoIP GSM gateways Addpac with a SIM box inside

A SIM box (also called a SIM bank) is device used as part of a VoIP gateway installation. It contains a number of SIM cards, which are linked to the gateway but housed and stored separately from it. A SIM box can have SIM cards of different mobile operators installed, permitting it to operate with several GSM gateways located in different places.

Fraudulent usage and detection

Scheme of VoIP call with SIM box and gateway

The SIM box operator can route international calls through the VoIP connection and connect the call as local traffic, allowing the box's operator to bypass international rates to fraudulently undercut the prices charged by genuine mobile network operators.[1][2] They will also create disproportionately high traffic for local calls in the area, causing congestion that affects the network performance for genuine local traffic.[1]

One method of detecting this sort of fraudulent usage is to generate test traffic from known international locations.[3]

It is illegal in a number of countries, such as Ghana, to use a SIM box as a call termination device.[2][4]


References

  1. 1 2 "How Bypass Fraud Works". PurgeFraud.com. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Ghana loses 33million dollars through SIM BOX fraud". vibeghana.com. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "SIM Box Fraud Detection". PurgeFraud.com. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "Former GREDA boss Tweneboah arrested for SIM box fraud". MyJoyOnline.com. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, January 28, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.