US and Spain the main originators of mobile fraud – Syniverse

A lot of mobile fraud exploits roaming vulnerabilities and two countries in particular seem to facilitate it.

This is one of the key findings in a new mobile fraud report from global transaction processor Syniverse, drawing on data from its risk management work with mobile operators globally. It turns out that the major originators of fraudulent mobile calls are the US and Spain. In the US national roaming seems to be a significant factor in facilitating fraud, while the number of visitors from different countries is a reason for Spain’s fraud problem.

Another factor tying both of those countries in this context is the presence of Cuba as the leading country for fraud call termination, with over 20% of the global total, thanks to the higher cost of calls terminating in that country.

“Analyzing first-hand data is invaluable in the fight against mobile fraud,” said Kyle Dorcas, VP of Policy and Risk Management at Syniverse. “Unfortunately, experiences with fraud attacks are not often shared between operators, which can limit knowledge and make the challenge of combating fraud much more difficult.”

A lot of the SIMs used in the US come from Mexico, it seems, while the UK seems to be the main source of Spanish dodgy SIMs. The overall leader in terms of originating SIMs used for fraud, however, is Brazil, which seems to be a hub for mobile naughtiness across Latin America.