October 27, 2006

Police warn gangs tap call centre info

Written by Brian Turner

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Security

Police in Glasgow have warned that 1 in 10 financial services call centres based in the city have been infiltrated by organised criminal gangs.

According to Strathclyde Police, the criminals either set up members as office staff, or else use threats on existing staff - in order to steal confidential financial details from customers.

These details could then be used for anything ranging from identity theft to siphoning cash from customer accounts.

While the Customer Contact Association (CCA) tried to play down the claims, it admitted it was an issue of concern.

Now Netintelligence have stepped in to slam vetting procedures for staff, pointing out that staff can often access core information systems after as little as two days training.

What this issue most highlights is that confidential user information can be very profitable to crominal gangs, and infiltrating call centres is effectively a form of non-virtual phishing - already a common method of trying to steal financial information online.

While it may be a concern for readers as customers, it’s also worth highlighting for those businesses that outsource call centre services to help run their business.

It’s also important to point out that there are “best practices” laid down by the CCA, and it’s worth getting an idea of how a potential call centre outsource project relates to these guidelines before completing a contract.

Filed Under Business, Security