A hybrid mobile call fraud detection model using optimized fuzzy C-means clustering and group method of data handling-based network

Abstract A novel two-stage fraud detection system in mobile telecom networks has been presented in this paper that identifies the malicious calls among the normal ones in two stages. Initially, a genetic algorithm-based optimized fuzzy c-means clustering is applied to the user’s historical call records for constructing the calling profile. Thereafter, the identification of the fraudulent calls occurs in two stages. In the first stage, each incoming call is passed to the clustering module that identifies the call as genuine, malicious or suspicious. This is done by comparing the distance value of the new calling instance from the profile cluster centers against two predefined threshold values. The calls detected as genuine or malicious are not further processed. However, the call records that are found to be suspicious are additionally scrutinized in the second stage by a previously trained group method of data handling model for final decision making. The legitimate and forged labeled call records generated out of the clustering module are utilized for training the supervised classifier. Experimentation is done on a real-world call dataset to exhibit the effectiveness of the proposed model. A comparative analysis of the current approach with one of our earlier propositions and another recent fraud detection system clearly illustrates the efficacy of the developed model