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Using Asentria Data Alarms for Toll Fraud Detection

 

Overview

Asentria Data-Link data alarms intelligently evaluate characters, character strings, or patterns of character strings within call detail records (CDR) as they enter the RS232 asynchronous port(s) from a PBX port. The text within a CDR string can provide effective clues to detect toll fraud activity, so you can use data alarms to recognize toll fraud warning signs.


Data events and actions

Data alarms consist of events (where an alarm condition is met) and actions (notifications such as a pager callout). Users create alarm formulas to define the conditions of an alarm event. As a simplified example, if Alarm Formula "A > 1" is true, then Alarm Event 1 is met. Customize toll fraud alarm formulas by first defining fields: "area code" equals characters 11 through 13 in a CDR string; "call duration" equals characters 30 through 35; etc. Once your fields are defined, you can apply macros (Boolean functions) to the fields. For example, "area code equal to 206; and call duration greater than or equal to 01 (hours)."


For toll fraud, it is particularly useful to create alarm formulas that implement the following logic: X number of events within X amount of time. This feature is called an alarm counter. When the counter reaches a specified threshold, say five events, it will trigger an alarm action. (A few outgoing international calls in an hour may be acceptable, but five or more is suspicious.)


You can easily identify and create the fields and macros of an alarm formula using common text editors or by using point and click Windows-based GUI software available at no charge from Asentria.


Some toll fraud clues

Toll fraud warning signs, and how to detect them:

  • Unexplained surges in telephone use (X number of calls within X amount of time).
  • Increases in calls after business hours (Field "Time" greater than X; and X number of calls within X amount of time).
  • Reports of odd calls, or calls to foreign countries (Field "Area Code" equal to X; or Field "International" equal to 011XXX).
  • Complaints that your system is "always busy."

Other applications for data alarms

Identify when a 911 call was placed on a large system and then take an alarm action that captures the originating phone extension number and includes it in the notification: SNMP-trap, pager call-out, or serial alarm output.


For calls of excessive duration, you could easily identify duration time within a CDR record as a field and alarm on that field if it exceeds a certain number.


Identify unique numbers used for dialing out. Let's say someone calls out on a 900 number. The alarm setting sees the field value match and alarms on it.


The Company

Asentria develops remote site monitoring and telemanagement solutions that enable providers of critical communications infrastructure to more efficiently and reliably run their networks. Asentria’s products help ensure quality of service and lower operational costs, while making it easier to provision, maintain and support remote equipment. Our strategic solutions fit both large and small communication networks and provide high-value, cost-effective and competitive differentiators to our customers.


Asentria helps administrators cost-effectively manage their call reporting data and remote site infrastructure, while extending confidence and security to ensure availability, integrity and performance. Asentria enables administrators to avoid failures from poor performing equipment that threaten end-user service expectations, while providing better control to predict the performance of remote infrastructure. These new levels of protection shield end-users from remote site equipment failure. Our service provider and enterprise customers trust their remote equipment sites to Asentria. The company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.