IDC finds cellular/PCS carriers lose nearly a half million dollars a day to fraud

In 1998, cellular/PCS carriers lost a total of $33.4 million to fraud in the United States alone. By 2003, this is expected to exceed $57 million. This data comes from a new report from International Data Corporation (IDC), The Faceless Fraudsters Make Their Mark: Cellular/PCS Fraud, 1998-2003.

As technical fraud becomes more difficult, fraudsters are turning to subscription fraud instead. Carriers want to make it easier for potential subscribers to sign up for service, so subscription fraud is becoming easier. "Because carriers require less personal information to get service than they did in the past -- sometimes making faceless sales -- fraudsters can more easily sign up for service, exposing carriers to even higher subscription fraud losses," said Callie Pottorf, research analyst with IDC`s Wireless and Mobile Communications program. "Although online distribution is one of the cheapest channels available to carriers, they must consider the fraud losses associated with faceless, online sales when determining the customer acquisition cost through this channel."

IDC`s report, Faceless Fraudsters Make Their Mark: Cellular/PCS Fraud, 1998-2003 forecasts fraud losses broken out by subscription/technical fraud and then further subdivided into true name subscription, false identity subscription, cloning, tumbling, and hacking fraud. Furthermore a split of internal versus external fraud is forecast. The report also highlights the major fraud solutions available from vendors in the industry. To see the report`s table of contents, visit http://www.idc.com and search for 19982. To purchase a copy of the report, contact Janis Dempsey at 508-935-4145 or by email at jdempsey@idc.com.