Theft and fraud are not new concepts. Thieves and fraudsters have been around since the dawn of time. What has changed are the methods in which these fraudsters commit their crimes. As technology advances, and the speed of which it is doing so is increasing year-on-year, scammers are finding new and sophisticated ways of pilfering hard-earned cash from their victims.

Since the common use of VoIP in the late 1990s, first robocalls and now spam text messages have increased by an alarming rate. According to a report by RoboKiller, scammers sent an astronomical 87.8 billion spam texts in the US in 2021, far surpassing the 72.2 billion spam calls they placed in that same timeframe. It’s the second consecutive year in which spam texts outpaced spam calls.

While STIR/SHAKEN protocols were designed to combat spoofed spam calls, it doesn’t address spam texts, and scammers know that. Adding to the increase in SMS scamming is the generational preference towards text messaging rather than calls. The increase in A2P messaging may also be a contributing factor in confusion around those messages that are genuine and those that are fraudulent. Research by the UK regulator for communication services, Ofcom, shows that older people in the UK are generally targeted with scam calls with 61% of people aged over 75 reporting suspicious calls to their landline, while three quarters of those aged between 16-34 are targeted by scam texts.

Delivery scams impersonating the likes of Amazon, DHL, and Royal Mail are the most prominent text scams, accounting for more than a quarter of all SMS scams in 2021. Scammers send texts containing links to track packages or adjust preferences, only the messages are instead designed to get the recipient to divulge sensitive information or download malware onto their device. With online shopping and parcel delivery more prevalent than ever before, this type of scamming activity is obviously very lucrative and highly likely to continue.

It has been estimated that combined losses to spam calls and texts in the US alone in 2021 exceeded an eye-watering US$40.3 billion. While in Australia, victims lost nearly AUD$300 million to scams in the first half of 2022, more than double that of the same period last year. However, many scams do go unreported so these figures could actually be far greater. The increasingly sophisticated tactics used by these criminals often have devastating consequences for victims and the sad reality is that those who do fall prey often have no recourse to recoup their loss or see justice through the prosecution of their perpetrators.

Governments across the world have been examining how technology can be used in the future to help prevent telecommunications fraud at the source. Unfortunately, at this moment there is no single solution, however, pressure is mounting on telecom operators by regulatory authorities to put more effort into and putting stronger systems in place to disrupt scamming activity. In the UK, Ofcom are currently working with local telecom operators on a number of initiatives to reduce fraudulent SMS scamming activities with the main focus being those that can be done at scale. One such area is the identification of SIM farms where prepaid SIM cards are purchased in bulk and used to send mass fraudulent text messages. They all have their challenges, but some initiatives include:

• Limiting bulk prepaid SIM card purchase by reviewing distribution channels.
• Using protocols to block messages from international numbers that purport to be from the UK.
• More broadly publicising and promoting the reporting of suspicious text messages to the operator via the 7726 number to aid scamming numbers being blocked.
• Working more closely with law enforcement and other agencies in the gathering of evidence that leads to more effectively bringing perpetrators before the courts.
• Some authorities are also calling for telecom operators to be incentivised to prevent fraudulent activity by making them liable for compensation to those affected.

Will we ever live in a world without SMS scams? As long we we’re using SMS, no! As technology advances, thieves and fraudsters will always find a way to use it to their advantage. There is no silver bullet that will end spam calls and texts completely, but we can be vigilant and support the technology that makes it as difficult as possible for these criminals to take advantage of innocent and vulnerable people.