$2.1B
Lost by enterprises to artificially inflated traffic in 2023
Source: Juniper Research
NetSfere Omnichannel Fraud & Spam Detection
Stop SMS fraud before it's delivered and before you pay for it.
SMS pumping and artificially inflated traffic hide in the pattern, not the message. NetSfere checks every message against your own traffic pattern as it's routed, and blocks fraud before it reaches the network or your invoice.
Built into NetSfere Omnichannel routing. Nothing to install, nothing to operate.
The threat
The cost of doing nothing
Artificially inflated traffic (AIT) generates fake messages that you pay to send. It is one of the biggest threats to business SMS today.
4.8%
Of international business SMS traffic is fraudulent AIT
Source: Enea and mobilesquared, 2023 data
35.7B
Fraudulent AIT messages sent in a single year, at the high end of estimates
Source: Enea and mobilesquared, 2023 data
By the time fraud shows up on an invoice, the money is already spent. Stopping it means catching it as messages are sent.
How it works
Protection that watches the pattern, in real time
Fraud & Spam Detection learns what normal traffic looks like for each customer and each destination. Every message is checked against that pattern as it is routed, so fraud is stopped before it is delivered and billed.
Volume spikes
Fraudsters pump artificial traffic to premium-rate destinations to collect a share of the fees.
How it's caught
Every destination prefix has its own learned baseline. A message that pushes volume beyond the normal pattern for that destination is flagged instantly.
New destinations
Destinations with little or no history are protected from the first message with conservative limits, and premium-rate ranges get stricter ones.
Spiking messages blocked; repeated spikes suspend the destination
Inflation
Slower, spread-out attacks keep each sender just under the radar, so no single signal looks wrong.
How it's caught
Traffic to each destination is tracked in aggregate across all of your senders and over longer time windows, so coordinated overages show up even when every sender looks normal.
Why it matters
Inflation is designed to beat simple per-sender limits. Looking at the whole picture is the only way to see it.
Confirmed inflation is blocked
Burst anomaly
A sudden surge in your overall sending rate is often the first sign of a stolen API key or compromised account.
How it's caught
Your total send rate is compared with its learned pattern for that time of day and week. Bot-like traffic and recent credential events raise the urgency.
What happens
Because a burst affects all of your traffic, it raises an immediate alert rather than blocking automatically. Our team investigates with you.
Immediate alert to our team and yours
Recipient pattern
Some attackers keep volumes normal and instead walk through number ranges or pile traffic onto one destination.
Sequential runs
Messages working through a block of numbers in sequence are detected, even when the attacker skips or repeats numbers to hide the pattern.
Destination concentration
Traffic that suddenly concentrates on a single destination is caught, even when your total volume looks ordinary.
Matching messages blocked
Benefits
Built to protect without getting in the way
Real time, not after the fact
Fraud is stopped the moment it happens, not flagged later in a report.
Tuned to your traffic
It learns your own pattern, so legitimate campaigns keep flowing.
Protects your budget
Fraudulent traffic is stopped before you pay to send it.
Protects your reputation
Abusive traffic is caught before it goes out in your name.
Fully managed by experts
Our team runs detection and reviews every decision, around the clock.
Response
How protection responds
The response is proportionate. Most attacks are stopped message by message, and only a sustained attack shuts a destination off.
- 1
Block the fraud
A message that crosses the learned threshold is blocked outright. The rest of your traffic is not affected.
- 2
Suspend if it repeats
If spikes to the same destination keep repeating, that destination is suspended until it is safe.
- 3
Alert you directly
Our support team contacts you straight away, by email, phone or any channel you give us.
- 4
Review and release
Nothing clears on a timer. Our operations team reviews every block and lifts it once it is confirmed safe.
Sees across all your senders
Abuse spread across many senders is tracked in aggregate, not just sender by sender.
Delivery always comes first
If protection is ever unavailable, your messages are still delivered. Detection never stands in the way of your customers.
Comparison
Traditional detection vs. NetSfere managed detection
| Aspect | Traditional detection | NetSfere managed detection |
|---|---|---|
| When fraud is caught | Hours or days later, in reports and invoices | As each message is routed, before delivery |
| How limits are set | One fixed limit for everyone | Learned for each customer and each destination |
| What happens next | An alert, then your team has to act | Fraud is blocked automatically, and our team contacts you |
| Who runs it | Your team configures, monitors and tunes it | Our operations team tunes it and reviews every decision |
| If detection is unavailable | Varies by tool | Your messages are still delivered |
Who it's for
Who benefits most
High-volume senders
Large messaging programs are the prime target for fraud. Even a small share of abuse adds up to a large cost.
Regulated industries
Banks, insurers and healthcare providers need fraud controls that are explainable and auditable.
International senders
Sending to many countries means more exposure, and premium-rate risk varies from market to market.
OTP and alert senders
One-time passcodes are the most targeted traffic for pumping. Protection is tuned so legitimate codes and alerts keep flowing.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What happens when fraud is detected?
The fraudulent messages are blocked. If attacks on the same destination keep repeating, that destination is suspended. Our support team contacts you straight away with the details.
How are new destinations protected?
Destinations with little or no traffic history are protected from the very first message with conservative limits. Premium-rate ranges get even stricter limits until there is enough history to learn their normal pattern.
Can a block or suspension be reversed?
Yes. Our operations team reviews every action and lifts it as soon as the traffic is confirmed legitimate. Nothing clears automatically on a timer, so a real attack cannot slip through when a clock runs out.
Protect every message, automatically.
Fraud & Spam Detection is part of NetSfere Omnichannel routing, so there is nothing to build and nothing to operate. Use it across your own traffic, or offer managed fraud protection to your customers.
