Security system to tackle text fraud to be launched in Ireland
The system is being launched after a flood of reports of text scams in recent months, many of which claim to be from banks, government agencies, Revenue, or delivery companies
A security system to tackle text fraud is being launched in Ireland.
Called the Ireland SMS SenderID Protection Registry, it will operate like a firewall and block messages from fraudsters pretending to represent major corporations like banks.
It comes in the wake of a flood of reports of text scams in recent months, many of which claim to be from banks, government agencies, Revenue, or delivery companies, and aim to dupe unsuspecting people.
It is being launched gradually here with the support of three mobile network operators, three as-yet-unnamed State agencies, high street banks, and various retailers.
The Mobile Ecosystem Forum’s (MEF) SMS Protection Registry was developed and piloted in the UK. It has 352 trusted SenderIDs registered to date.
Once fully up and running here, it will help organisations register the sender IDs/message headers used when sending text messages to their customers. This will limit the ability of fraudsters to impersonate a brand, as the registry automatically checks whether the sender is the genuine authorised party.
More than 1500 unauthorised variants are being blocked on an ever-growing list in the UK, including 300 senderIDs relating to the UK government’s Covid-19 campaign.
MEF’s SMS Protection Registry reduces the ability for fraudsters to send messages impersonating a brand in the message header, by checking whether the sender using that sender ID is authorised by the merchant/brand. If not, messages from this route are blocked as fraudulent.
Sender IDs set up by fraudsters made up of misspellings and special characters aimed at impersonating a merchant or brand are also blocked via a ‘denied list’ circulated to messaging partners.
“There are millions of faked SMS sent by fraudsters trying to steal passwords every day," said Dario Betti, CEO of the Mobile Ecosystem Forum.
"We need to help consumers and organisations fight back.
"We are going to try and replicate the success in the UK in Ireland, having been contacted by various organisations and asked to try it out in Ireland as well."
