Subscription Fraud

In telecom networks, Subscription Fraud is the use of fake or stolen identity to obtain mobile services with no intention to pay, often combined with IRSF or SIM-box operations. Identity verification, KYC, and credit-risk scoring at activation are primary defenses.

Categories: Identity and SubscriberFraudOperations and Business

Subscription Fraud in context

Subscriber identifiers (IMSI, SUPI, MSISDN, IMEI) anchor authentication, charging and lawful interception. Any protocol that leaks a permanent identifier is treated as a privacy defect, which is why 5G introduced SUCI concealment on the air interface.

Telecom fraud costs operators an estimated $40+ billion per year. Common vectors include IRSF, Wangiri callback scams, SIM box bypass, PBX hacking and A2P grey routing.

To place Subscription Fraud in the wider telecom-security picture, review ARPU, Artificial Traffic Inflation, Billing System, DSLAM, eSIM (Embedded SIM, eUICC) and Flash Call Fraud — each entry cross-references back to this page so you can walk the topic in either direction.

Related terms

More from the TelcoSec Glossary

Browse the full TelcoSec Glossary, the Ultimate Guide to Mobile Network Security, or the P1 Arsenal of telecom-security tools.