{ "id": "12d0bd71-1ef4-4cd7-88eb-da1dcf087687", "created_at": "2026-04-06T00:08:13.577413Z", "updated_at": "2026-04-10T03:20:00.50585Z", "deleted_at": null, "sha1_hash": "e64feb1394a09c60a598d912048ca155ebeea3fd", "title": "What is SMS Pumping Fraud?", "llm_title": "", "authors": "", "file_creation_date": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "file_modification_date": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "file_size": 97419, "plain_text": "What is SMS Pumping Fraud?\r\nArchived: 2026-04-05 22:25:14 UTC\r\nSMS pumping fraud happens when fraudsters take advantage of a phone number input field to receive a one-time\r\npasscode, an app download link, or anything else via SMS. The messages are sent to a range of numbers\r\ncontrolled by a specific mobile network operator\r\n(MNO) and the fraudsters get a share of the generated revenue.\r\nThis happens in one of two scenarios:\r\nThe MNO is complicit in the scheme and has a revenue sharing agreement with the fraudsters.\r\nhttps://www.twilio.com/docs/glossary/what-is-sms-pumping-fraud\r\nPage 1 of 7\n\nThe MNO is unknowingly exploited by the fraudsters.\r\nIn the second case, smaller MNOs get paid by larger MNOs for subscribers and traffic, so a fraudster can create a\r\nfake company and promise large amounts of traffic. The MNO may not care what the source of the traffic is and\r\nends up supporting the fraud. In either case, you're more likely to see this type of fraud occur with smaller\r\noperators.\r\nSigns of an SMS pumping attack\r\nYou will likely see a spike of messages sent to a block of adjacent numbers (i.e. +1111111110, +1111111111,\r\n+1111111112, +1111111113, etc.) controlled by the same MNO.\r\nhttps://www.twilio.com/docs/glossary/what-is-sms-pumping-fraud\r\nPage 2 of 7\n\nIf you're sending SMS for a one-time passcode (OTP) use case, you will likely not see a completed verification\r\ncycle.\r\nFight SMS pumping fraud with Twilio\r\nVerify Fraud Guard : Verify is the market leading dedicated authentication and identity solution perfect\r\nfor preventing SMS Pumping. Twilio recommends enabling the Verify Fraud Guard on your account. When\r\nenabled, this feature will block the transmission of suspicious and likely fraudulent SMS messages\r\npreventing unnecessary charges to your account.\r\nVerify Geo Permissions : Review your Verify Geographic Permissions and disable all countries that you\r\ndo not plan to send messages to.\r\nhttps://www.twilio.com/docs/glossary/what-is-sms-pumping-fraud\r\nPage 3 of 7\n\nProgrammable Messaging SMS Pumping Protection : If migration to Verify isn't possible due to your\r\nconfiguration and you are using Programmable Messaging instead, be sure the SMS Pumping Protection\r\nfeature is enabled. When enabled, it will block the transmission of suspicious SMS messages.\r\nProgrammable Messaging Geo Permissions : Review our SMS Geo Permissions Guide and check the\r\nappropriateness of your Geographic Permissions in Console\r\n. Disable all countries that you do not plan to send messages to.\r\nLookup Line Type Intelligence : Use Lookup Line Type Intelligence to get the line type of a number, then\r\nonly send SMS to mobile numbers. You can also use this API request to determine the carrier and block\r\ncarriers that may be (knowingly or not) causing inflated traffic. Learn more about how to build a carrier\r\nblock list with Lookup in this blog post\r\nhttps://www.twilio.com/docs/glossary/what-is-sms-pumping-fraud\r\nPage 4 of 7\n\n.\r\nRelated content\r\nhttps://www.twilio.com/docs/glossary/what-is-sms-pumping-fraud\r\nPage 5 of 7\n\nVerify Fraud Guard\r\nProgrammable Messaging SMS Pumping Protection\r\nAnti-Fraud Developer's Guide\r\nhttps://www.twilio.com/docs/glossary/what-is-sms-pumping-fraud\r\nPage 6 of 7\n\nBest practices for phone number validation during new user enrollment\r\nVerification and two-factor authentication best practices\r\nSource: https://www.twilio.com/docs/glossary/what-is-sms-pumping-fraud\r\nhttps://www.twilio.com/docs/glossary/what-is-sms-pumping-fraud\r\nPage 7 of 7\n\n https://www.twilio.com/docs/glossary/what-is-sms-pumping-fraud \nVerify Fraud Guard \nProgrammable Messaging SMS Pumping Protection\nAnti-Fraud Developer's Guide \n Page 6 of 7\n\n https://www.twilio.com/docs/glossary/what-is-sms-pumping-fraud \nBest practices for phone number validation during new user enrollment\nVerification and two-factor authentication best practices\nSource: https://www.twilio.com/docs/glossary/what-is-sms-pumping-fraud \n Page 7 of 7", "extraction_quality": 1, "language": "EN", "sources": [ "MITRE" ], "references": [ "https://www.twilio.com/docs/glossary/what-is-sms-pumping-fraud" ], "report_names": [ "what-is-sms-pumping-fraud" ], "threat_actors": [], "ts_created_at": 1775434093, "ts_updated_at": 1775791200, "ts_creation_date": 0, "ts_modification_date": 0, "files": { "pdf": "https://archive.orkl.eu/e64feb1394a09c60a598d912048ca155ebeea3fd.pdf", "text": "https://archive.orkl.eu/e64feb1394a09c60a598d912048ca155ebeea3fd.txt", "img": "https://archive.orkl.eu/e64feb1394a09c60a598d912048ca155ebeea3fd.jpg" } }