(Ecofin Agency) - Between January and August 2015, over 65 million minutes of telephone calls were diverted by fraudsters using SIM toolboxes, commonly referred to as SIM Box. Telecom operators in Cameroon have lost over FCfa13 billion over the period in question due to this practice, a telecom expert revealed to private newspaper Le Messager.

Indeed, the Sim Box a device holding many Sim cards, offers the possibility to its user of making calls coming from abroad appear as if emitted in Cameroon. The fraudster can then avoid tariffs and charges for international calls, at the expense of the telecom operators and Public Treasury.

This was practised by Fonkou Fosso and Tchioffo Tazioti, two young Cameroonians who have arrested by the Police on 28 August 2015 in Douala, the local press revealed. According to the 21 December law on cyber-criminality and cyber-security in Cameroon, these presumed fraudsters could face 5 to 10 years of prison and fines between FCfa 5 and 10 million each.