2016 has been a great year in terms of innovation within the messaging industry with so many innovative products and ideas driving the continued growth of the sector.
According to businesswire.com the A2P messaging market is growing at a rate of 4.2% annually and will be worth around US$70.32 billion in 2020.
That is a hefty chunk of change and everyone wants a piece of the action and would go as far as unethical and even illegal practices to get ahead of the competition.
Cutting down on shortcuts
Grey routes have become a popular practice among bulk messaging service providers around the globe and while clients may not be aware of it and only looking for the best possible deal in terms of savings and ROI this isn't a safe solution.
This situation only creates more of a demand for service providers to employ grey route tactics and this is why MEF has stepped in to create the fraud framework which is a messaging services compliance guide.
As a member of MEF, and a Founding Member of the Fraud Framework Committee, iTouch has worked closely with 25 other Messaging Services Companies from around the world to put together this comprehensive guide.
The Fraud Framework guide
The fraud types identified by the group include SMS Phishing, Hacking and Faking as well as Grey Routes and SIM Farms, are complex and often not well understood.
It also defines the causes, impacts and affected parties of each of the 11 fraud types and will form the basis of future best practice guidelines.
The programme participants represent different stakeholder groups in the ecosystem including MNOs, SMS aggregators, Application Service Providers and Enterprise Messaging companies. and The Framework benefits from the collective expert knowledge of local and international companies active in Asia, Africa, Europe, North and Latin America, where fraud continues to limit full market potential.
Duties of clients
We urge current and prospective clients to insist on working with legitimate and compliant Bulk Messaging service providers who are prepared to they divulge their methods.
Do not support non-compliant and/or illegal practices and be sure that they work according to the guidelines set out in the Fraud Framework Guide. In the not too distant future, a “blacklist” of companies will be available for your convenience.
Working together with compliant service provides like iTouch, we can rid the industry of this dark practice to ensure fewer leakages, an improved and quality service, and industry growth going forward.
If you're interested in exploring the guide you can download the complete framework by clicking here.
Contact Us
For more information and/or a personal visit to discuss the Fraud Framework Guidelines, feel free to contact us here, and we will arrange an appointment to meet you. We look forward to being of service to you and your company in 2017.