millions
Mukoni T Ratshitanga
A PHONECARD scam, thought to have been pioneered by engineering students, has prompted Telkom to launch a surveillance operation on university and technikon campuses across the country.
The operator said it had lost R1-million in one week alone this month – when it discovered the fraud – and suspects a syndicate is involved.
But students across the country say the scam has been operating for at least a year – which could mean Telkom’s losses run far higher than R1-million – with technology developed mainly by engineering students.
The scam involves fooling the card-phone into registering unlimited credit on a phonecard. The phonecard can be programmed with credits worth nearly R8000, which are never reduced, despite students phoning any destination they choose. Telkom says that between 200 and 250 phones have been used in the scam.
The fraud varies between campuses. For example, students at Rhodes University and the Medical University of Southern Africa are said to use two cards, one empty one and another with credit, to manipulate the phone to give users thousands of rands worth of credits.
A Rand Afrikaans University student, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said students there have developed a method of crediting phonecards before their expiry date. But such fraud was limited to duplicating the original value of the card.
Telkom admitted the fraud was caused by a “weakness in the phonecard software” and that current software was being upgraded. “Telkom’s special investigation team uses physical and electronic surveillance equipment on public telephones,” a representative said. “They also investigate every single tip-off, which has proved to be fruitful.”
Nine students (five in Pretoria, three in Port Elizabeth and one in Durban) have been arrested and brought to court so far.