As a business, it’s essential to understand the risks associated with artificially inflated SMS traffic and take the necessary steps to protect your organisation from this type of fraud. In this blog post, we will discuss various methods for detecting and preventing AIT.
What is Artificially Inflated SMS Traffic?
Artificially inflated SMS traffic, sometimes referred to as SMS pumping, is a type of fraud where large volumes of text messages are sent to mobile numbers without the recipients’ consent or awareness. This is typically done using automated systems, such as bots. The messages may be spam, smishing attempts, or contain links to malicious websites.
In some cases, AIT is used to overwhelm the SMS capacity of targeted mobile numbers, rendering services that rely on SMS temporarily unusable. This can be part of a Denial of Service (DoS) attack, effectively putting a mobile number "offline" and disrupting essential services like two-factor authentication (2FA), one-time passwords (OTP), customer support, or helpdesk numbers.
How to prevent and detect artificially inflated SMS traffic
There are several ways to prevent and detect artificially inflated SMS traffic:
1. Enable SMS Sender ID Protection - prevent fraudsters from using your company’s sender ID in SMS transmissions.
2. Restrict automated access with CAPTCHA - secure forms and registration flows using CAPTCHA to prevent bots from triggering SMS sends.
3. Implement 2FA and Technical Safeguards in internal systems - adopt security protocols such as two-factor authentication and access controls to reduce the risk of internal systems being exploited to send SMS messages by fraudsters.
4. Educate internal users and enable reporting of suspicious SMS - raise awareness among employees and customers about the risks of scam SMS and make it easy for them to report suspicious activity. In Sweden, suspicious SMS should be forwarded to 7726, a shared number used by telecom operators to collect and analyse scam reports.
5. Choose a provider with active traffic monitoring - operators and aggregators continuously monitor traffic patterns and detect anomalies that may indicate AIT. It’s important to work with an SMS provider that offers this type of protection to identify and respond to suspicious activity quickly.
We take our customers’ security seriously
As a member of the industry association MORGAN, we actively work to combating fraud and enhancing the security of A2P messaging. LEKAB's solutions secure the entire communication chain – from Sender ID Protection to technical access. With role-based access to our platform and geographic restrictions, we minimise the risk of unauthorised access, incorrect traffic, and international fraud attempts.
If you want to learn more about how LEKAB combat fraud and how you can protect your business, contact us today. We'll be happy to discuss how our solutions can help you stay secure and ensure your business messaging remains a trusted and effective communication channel.
ABOUT LEKAB
LEKAB provides mobile messaging services, messaging APIs and software for advanced messaging and process automation. We offer digital tools and solutions to companies that want to optimise how they communicate and interact with customers and employees on the mobile to improve productivity, availability and the customer experience through mobile channels. Do you want to know more or ask us for advice? Contact Us!