Two men have been arrested for allegedly hacking into Telkom`s network and operating an illegal exchange.
Telkom says the two were found in a Telkom manhole near Heidelberg in Gauteng at 2am on Tuesday.
They were arrested by Telkom investigating officers and an armed response company and taken to the Heidelberg police station where they were charged with fraud and malicious damage to Telkom`s network.
Telkom alleges in a statement that the men were responsible for damaging its network by breaking cables and operating their own illegal exchange.
Known as "clip-on" fraud, this involves selling phone calls to a network of users by using legitimate lines and reconnecting them to international destinations. Illegal operators then collect money for the calls.
"Telkom was alerted to this scam by monitoring the increasing international traffic from the Heidelberg region," the company says. Its security and investigations team took only a few days to apprehend the suspects.
"Telkom is committed to providing excellent customer service and when illegal and criminal elements interfere with the company`s network and infrastructure, it hinders the ability to provide such service," says Molefi Ntleru, Telkom senior manager of security and investigations.
"Telkom`s security and investigations team has the technology, skills and resources to monitor the network all day, everyday, and with the help of communities and the South African Police Services, criminals will eventually end up where they belong - behind bars."
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