National LCR and communications solutions provider TelePassport has issued an urgent warning to South African LCR customers to be on the lookout for thieves trying to gain access to their premises by posing as "technicians" from their LCR provider.
These fraudsters use the name of the customer`s LCR provider, and pose as technicians from the provider on a courtesy call or site visit to "check the equipment". Once they have access to the company`s PABX room, they remove the SIM cards from the GSM routers and leave before the client is aware of the theft.
TelePassport MD Anton Potgieter comments: "Often the customer`s PABX equipment will automatically bypass the SIM-less routers, and the theft is only discovered when the LCR provider does their regular service check that the client site is operating properly. If the stolen SIMs are used immediately, and the LCR provider only checks call usage instead of using actual equipment performance and from-the-field I-am-here reporting, it could take much longer to pick up the problem."
Potgieter reports that TelePassport has to date suffered at least two occurrences of SIM card theft from its customers. The thefts currently appear confined to the Cape Town area. "Up until now it is only SIMs that have disappeared, which is not too bad as they can be remotely deactivated," he adds, "but the greater danger is that that the GSM routers themselves can be stolen, which at R3 000 each can be a costly loss - especially as many clients are not aware that the equipment is their responsibility while on site at their premises."
These thefts are not limited to TelePassport customers, and at least one other LCR provider has recently suffered losses and cautioned its clients.
Potgieter concludes: "TelePassport urges all South African companies using LCR to be aware of this, and to exercise caution in allowing unfamiliar personnel access to their premises. PABX and communication rooms are ultra-sensitive areas of a corporate`s premises, containing high-cost equipment and confidential, sensitive data. These should always be strictly controlled, and in particular, companies should never allow unknown "technicians" into their communications rooms without a proper appointment set up by their regular service contact at their LCR provider."
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