Why the A2P SMS industry needs a code of conduct for fraud?
MEF recently launched it’s new Trust in Enterprise Messaging (TEM) service backed by an industry Code of Conduct for A2P (Applications to Person) SMS in collaboration with 30+ participants of MEF’s Future of Messaging Programme, that includes MNOs, messaging companies and signalling providers.
The new service is self-regulatory – its goal, to accelerate market clean-up and educate enterprise messaging solution buyers about the threats of fraudulent practices and poor procurement processes.
“CLX turns ten years old this year, and since our founding in 2008 we have been passionate about stamping out fraud in the SMS industry. In fact, in 2011, our business stopped growing for many months which we directly attributed to one of the most massive Global Title faking frauds ever seen in history. Some SMS companies were not so lucky and went out of business during this time.
The financial and psychological impact of SMS fraud on consumers and businesses cannot be understated, and it is for this reason that CLX has been working closely with MEF over the past two years to create the Code of Conduct launched recently.
The Code is a baseline for ensuring everyone in the eco-system, and SMS value chain behaves acceptably and takes steps to protect consumers, protect their networks, and work together to monitor and prevent future fraud.
I applaud MEF for their progress in getting so many key stakeholders together to agree on the Code in an industry that thrives on secrecy and where a competitive edge is sometimes entirely based on knowledge of a particular market.
The Code of Conduct, the first of its kind to directly address the 12 most common types of fraud in the SMS eco-system will have a significant impact to both consumers and businesses provided that Enterprises demand that their suppliers sign the Code. Herein lies the challenge; many Enterprises are price sensitive for a good reason, and they will need to put their principles and their commitment to stamping out fraud ahead of their natural desire to achieve the lowest price in order to make a difference.