SMS Pumping Detection
Prevent Toll Fraud & Artificial SMS Traffic with Real-Time Detection
What is SMS Pumping Fraud?
SMS Pumping, also known as International Revenue Share Fraud (IRSF), is a growing form of telecom fraud where malicious actors exploit SMS verification endpoints by generating massive volumes of one-time password (OTP) or 2FA requests to high-cost, premium rate numbers. The goal is to drive artificially inflated SMS messaging traffic and generate revenue via interconnection fees shared with telecom operators or fraudulent aggregators.
Businesses using SMS-based two-factor authentication (2FA) or account creation flows are prime targets, especially when attackers automate fake sign-ups, free trials, logins, or password resets across international number ranges.
How IPQualityScore Prevents SMS Pumping Attacks
IPQS leverages advanced telecom metadata, behavioral analytics, velocity and usage patterns, device fingerprinting technology, and real-time traffic scoring to detect and block suspicious SMS traffic before any messages are sent. By analyzing the risk factors associated with a phone number, IPQS can accurately flag:
- High-cost international premium rate numbers
- Fake phone numbers generated by bots or VoIP services
- Unusual volumes of SMS requests from single IPs or devices
- Carrier reputation, number validity, and routing anomalies
- Known fraud rings and abusive number patterns
- Unusual velocity patterns consistent with SMS pumping attacks
These real-time insights enable businesses to block risky phone numbers, throttle suspicious traffic, or apply stricter user verification flows based on phone number quality score thresholds.
Enterprise-Grade Protection Against Toll Fraud
Our SMS Pumping Detection API integrates seamlessly with existing sign-up forms, 2FA flows, and messaging systems. Designed to scale with large enterprise environments, IPQS provides sub-50ms API response times, global telecom data coverage, and dynamic rule sets customized to your platform's abuse patterns.
Empower your fraud team with detailed insights such as:
- Real-time SMS risk score (0-100)
- Number validity and reachability
- Carrier name and country of origin
- Is the number linked to SMS pumping or toll fraud?
- Device behavior and velocity scoring
- Identity enrichment and user activity signals
These real-time insights enable businesses to block risky phone numbers, throttle suspicious traffic, or apply stricter user verification flows based on phone number quality score thresholds.
All results are enriched by IPQS' proprietary threat intelligence network, including honeypot traps, telecom reputation feeds, and AI-powered anomaly detection.
Global Coverage & Real-Time SMS Fraud Intelligence
IPQS maintains one of the world's most accurate SMS threat detection networks with global telecom carrier monitoring, traffic analysis, phone number abuse reports, and real-time detection of fraudulent number ranges. Access real-time phone number intelligence signals with 100% match rates for any mobile network operator or country. Whether you're a messaging provider, fintech company, consumer service, or SaaS platform, our coverage includes:
- All 195 countries and territories
- All major telecom operators and MVNOs
- VoIP & disposable number detection
- Real-time blocklist of abusive number prefixes
- Automated abuse reporting and alerting tools
Stop Losing Revenue to SMS Pumping Fraud
Protect your platform from fraudulent SMS traffic and inflated carrier charges. IPQS makes it easy to identify and prevent toll fraud before it costs your business.
Monitor SMS Volume & Identify SMS Velocity Anomalies
IPQS leverages advanced machine learning algorithms to detect suspicious SMS patterns and artificial messaging traffic in real time. We designed our system to automatically mitigate SMS toll fraud, commonly known as SMS pumping, during critical workflows such as account creation, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and identity verification. By intelligently analyzing velocity metrics and telecom metadata, including carrier information, geographic origin, user identity, and behavioral trends, IPQS significantly reduces the financial impact of these attacks on your business.
Use Cases for SMS Pumping Detection
- Lead Generation: Filter out fake leads that submit SMS-verified forms.
- User Sign-Ups: Prevent fake users from using costly or fraudulent numbers.
- 2FA & OTP Flows: Stop bots from abusing free SMS verification requests.
- Messaging Platforms: Monitor carrier destinations for risk and fraud patterns.
- Financial Services: Ensure secure multi-factor authentication via SMS.
Phone Number Risk Scoring
In addition to detecting SMS pumping, IPQS also provides real-time telecom risk intelligence to detect fraudulent phone numbers, abusive users, and even bot registrations using prepaid, virtual, and disposable phone numbers. Phone number risk attributes paired with activity, identity, and validation data enhance user quality controls and make it easy to identify fraudulent accounts.
Simple API Integration with Custom Rules
Add SMS pumping protection in minutes with our easy-to-implement RESTful API. IPQS provides developer-friendly documentation, SDKs in popular languages, and real-time monitoring to block abuse attempts and fraud schemes at the source.
Want tailored rules? Our enterprise clients receive custom thresholds, dedicated fraud analysts, and white-glove onboarding support to optimize fraud detection for your specific use case.