Blockchain and Stackelberg Game Model for Roaming Fraud Prevention and Profit Maximization

Abstract

Roaming fraud is one of the most significant financial losses for mobile service providers. The inefficiency of current exchanging data management methods among mobile service providers is the main obstacle for roaming fraud prevention. In this paper, we introduce a novel blockchain-based data exchange management system to address roaming fraud problems in mobile networks. This system provides a secure and automatic data exchange service among mobile service providers and mobile subscribers. In addition, we introduce an emerging Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism for the proposed blockchain-based roaming fraud prevention system, which can significantly reduce the delay in exchanging information as well as implementation costs for mobile service providers. To further enhance benefits and security efficiency for the proposed blockchain system, we develop an economic model based on Stackelberg game. This game model is very effective in maximizing profits for both the stakeholders and stake pool and useful in designing a robust blockchain-based mobile roaming management system. Through performance analysis and numerical results, we show that our proposed framework not only provides an effective solution to prevent mobile roaming fraud but also opens many business opportunities for future mobile networks.