Criminal gangs in the UK have infiltrated dozens of call centers. Despite measures taken by the police to combat the trend, the problem remains a major threat. According to experts at InfoWatch, police in Scotland have recognized the level of danger posed by the insider threat, but they have yet to react to the problem in the right way.
Criminals are installing their own people in call centers or putting pressure on insiders in order to obtain confidential customer data. The stolen information is then used to withdraw money from the accounts of their victims, the BBC reports.
Detective Chief Inspector Derek Robertson of Strathclyde Police told the BBC that approximately 10% of the call centers in Glasgow have suffered data leaks. Law enforcers are applying every effort to reduce that number.
There are a number of ways to leak information out of call centers, according to Robertson. The two main methods are placing people within the call centers so that they can pass customers' data out to the gangs, or approaching call center workers outside their workplace and using coercion or promises of financial gain to obtain customer data. However, regardless of the method used to acquire confidential information, the consequences of data theft are always distressing for the victims.
The head of the regional police, Dave Watson, told Newsnight Scotland that there are opportunities for criminal gangs to infiltrate call centers where there is high staff turnover and employers are desperate to recruit anyone to fulfill a particular contract. Moreover, the problem is not confined to Scotland but concerns the whole of the UK.
Robertson believes tackling call center fraud is now a top priority. His officers regularly monitor local jobs pages and contact new call centers. The only way to get ahead of the criminals, according to Robertson, is by pro-actively targeting the organization before they recruit a gang member.
Denis Zenkin, marketing director at InfoWatch, does not agree with this approach, however. “The main problem behind data leaks stems from the call centers themselves and the lack of automated monitoring and control systems. The police suggest applying huge efforts to reduce the possibility of personal data theft, but the results are very modest. It is far more effective in these conditions to protect confidential information with specialized technical measures,” says Zenkin.
Source: BBC
