Fraud prevention and security in SMS communications have become critical priorities for enterprises, as the widespread adoption of SMS for customer engagement and transactional services has made it a prime target for malicious actors. SMS remains one of the most direct and efficient communication channels, with high open rates and immediate visibility. However, these advantages also attract fraudsters who exploit SMS for phishing (\u201csmishing\u201d), spam, and unauthorized access to sensitive data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As businesses increasingly rely on SMS for marketing campaigns and customer support, the need for robust security measures has never been more pressing. Market trends highlight the rapid growth in mobile messaging. According to a report by Juniper Research, the global SMS business messaging market is projected to grow to $50 billion by 2025. This surge is paralleled by rising threats\u2014research from the GSMA reveals that mobile operators blocked nearly 500 million fraudulent messages globally in 2022 alone. Additionally, smishing attacks have grown by over 300% in recent years, emphasizing the vulnerability of enterprises and consumers alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To address these risks, enterprises must implement comprehensive fraud prevention strategies and security frameworks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A company can protect its SMS account by implementing security measures like allowlists, blocklists, and throttling. Together, these mechanisms form a robust defense system for protecting a corporate SMS account from unauthorized access, misuse, and attacks. Here\u2019s how they work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Allowlist (Whitelist) <\/strong>is a list of approved numbers or contacts that are explicitly permitted to send and\/ or receive SMS messages via the company’s account. This list is maintained and updated on a regular basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As an example, a company may add trusted internal employee numbers or key clients to the allowlist, ensuring that only these users can send or receive messages via the SMS platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blocklist<\/strong> is a list of numbers that are explicitly prevented from sending or receiving SMS messages through the company’s account. This de facto anti-positive of an allowlist is also maintained and updated regularly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s say a company identifies a series of suspicious messages from certain phone numbers (or even a range of numbers that originate from a specific geographic region), they can add these numbers to the blocklist to prevent further interactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Throttling<\/strong> limits the number of SMS messages that can be sent or received over a specific period, such as per minute, hour, or day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A company might limit outgoing messages to 100 per minute to ensure that even in case of an attack, the system cannot be overwhelmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Equally as important as protecting themselves, companies also have a responsibility to protecting their customers as well. A company can protect its customers by using SMS Sender IDs and RCS Branding to ensure secure and trustworthy communication. These mechanisms not only protect customers from malicious actors, but also strengthen brand trust and ensure a secure communication experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SMS Sender IDs<\/strong> are a customizable identifier (usually the company\u2019s name) displayed on the recipient’s phone instead of a standard phone number. This Sender ID needs to be verified by the carrier and\/or potential other third parties. Verified identities are labeled as such for easy identification (be it with a check mark or related icon). This ensures that messages are genuinely sent by the authorized entity (the company).<\/p>\n\n\n\n As an example, a bank sending an important message using their actual name as a Sender ID and displaying a verified check mark along with it allows customers to instantly recognize that the message is from their trusted financial institution, not a fraudster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RBM (RCS Business Messaging) Branding <\/strong>enhances traditional SMS by adding features like branding, multimedia content, and advanced functionalities such as read receipts. RBM Branding allows companies to send messages with their official logo, color schemes, and other recognizable brand elements. Again, these need to be verified by the carrier and potentially other third parties to ensure their legitimate use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whena retail company sends a promotional message that displays the company’s logo, a verified checkmark, and custom colors, the recipient instantly recognizes the message as official, and it stands out from potentially fraudulent or generic SMS messages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end of the day, a company is only as safe as its employees. It is essential that they are able to effectively protect their SMS users as well. Strong authentication mechanisms combined with enterprise-level support, service management, and quality enhance security. Together, these mechanisms form a comprehensive defense that ensures both the protection and reliability of the company\u2019s SMS service for its users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Multiple different authentication methods work in coordination to provide a comprehensive level of security for SMS users. To highlight each in detail:<\/p>\n\n\n\n OAuth<\/strong> is an authentication protocol that allows third-party applications to securely access a user\u2019s information without sharing their credentials. It provides secure, token-based authentication, reducing the risk of credential theft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n OAuth generates tokens that have expiration times and can be revoked, further reducing the chances of misuse or long-term exposure of sensitive data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Encrypted TLS<\/strong> or Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a protocol that ensures secure communication by encrypting data between the user\u2019s device and the SMS platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n IP Address Restrictions<\/strong> limits access to the SMS platform to specific, trusted IP addresses, preventing unauthorized access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To give a practical example of these authentication measures working together at the enterprise-level, a company might use OAuth to integrate SMS-based notifications with a third-party app, ensuring secure access without sharing sensitive credentials. TLS encryption ensures all message data is protected. Additionally, the platform only allows access from authorized IP addresses to further reduce risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 24×7 Support and Service Management<\/strong> for the company\u2019s SMS platform ensures that any issues are quickly identified and resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With proactive service management and continuous monitoring, the company can quickly resolve any disruptions, ensuring that SMS services remain operational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Active carrier management goes one step further by allowing traffic to be proactively switched to ensure the best throughput and delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having a dedicated incident management team available at all times ensures faster detection and response to unusual activity, such as a spike in suspicious SMS traffic, unauthorized access attempts, or misuse of the platform. This protects users from potential security risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By implementing advanced security measures such as sender verification, encryption, IP restrictions, and 24×7 monitoring, enterprises can mitigate these risks and safeguard their SMS communications. Investing in strong SMS security not only prevents potential financial and reputational damage but also fosters customer trust, which is crucial for maintaining long-term success in today\u2019s digital economy. As market trends indicate continued growth in SMS usage, the importance of protecting this channel cannot be overstated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Implementing mechanisms to protect your company, customers, and users is essential to any enterprise-level business that sends and receives SMS. It is critical that they have a partner that is able to deliver these crucial elements. Retarus provides 40 percent of the S&P Global 100 companies with mission-critical messaging services<\/a>, including an enterprise-grade cloud SMS solution<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SMS remains one of the most direct and efficient communication channels, with high open rates and immediate visibility. However, these advantages also attract fraudsters who exploit SMS for phishing (\u201csmishing\u201d), spam, and unauthorized access to sensitive data. To address these risks, enterprises must implement comprehensive fraud prevention strategies and security frameworks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":11034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[3808],"dipi_cpt_category":[],"class_list":["post-11032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-enterprise-sms"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nProtecting Your Customers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Protecting You<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n