ABSTRACT
This chapter provides how best to devise and regulate the provision of telecommunications services so as to minimise the opportunities for theft while at the same time deterring potential offenders from embarking upon acts which use telecommunications equipment for personal gain. Greed and profit-making are the traditionally-recognised reasons for stealing telecommunications services and it has been argued that some offenders have established lucrative businesses of dealing in stolen equipment and services. In the United States in 1994, an employee of MCI Telecommunications Corporation, was charged with stealing more than 100,000 telephone calling cards that were used to make US$50 million worth of long-distance calls. Clough and Mungo review the history of telecommunications crime throughout the world. In Australia, the Australian Federal Police have uncovered a number of telecommunications frauds, some of which have resulted in prosecutions being conducted and terms of imprisonment being imposed.
