Top Telecom Companies May be in Trouble as NCC Looks to Investigate Call Masking

It appears the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) investigation into cases of call masking and refilling just got even more interesting. Information reaching us reveal that the four major telecom companies may soon be investigated over call masking allegations.

A few weeks ago, we reported that the NCC was investigating the issue of call masking. And that it had suspended the licences of 6 operators over the issue.

But presently, the regulatory body is looking to add the big telecom companies to its loop.

Why Is The NCC Investigating the Telecom Companies?

Following the suspension of the licences of the 6 operators, they all cried foul play. They claimed that calls do not originate from their end and that only 5% of all calls are routed through them. The remaining 95% of calls are routed through mobile telecom operators. This may have been the rationale for the NCC to widen the scope of its investigation.

However, this belief was given more support by Mr Olusola Teniola, President of the Association of Telecom companies in Nigeria. Speaking with the Punch newspapers, Mr Olusola shared that “the investigation is still ongoing and I know they (the NCC) would extend the net to include the major network operators.”

What is Call Masking and Refilling again?

Call masking and refilling are techniques used to allow SMS to be sent or calls to be made to people without revealing the identity of the sender or caller.

Call masking practices helps hide user identity and location. But it can also be used to reduce call cost extremely. The practice is used by fraudsters to avoid paying the true cost for international calls. Operators could use it to reduce the cost incurred for international calls.

While call refilling is a technique, or fraud, whereby an operator falsifies the caller-ID data of a number, before passing the call onto a competitor.