FIRESIDE CHAT: Outrageous phone bills stun businesses targeted for ‘SMS toll fraud’ – Source: securityboulevard.com

By Byron V. Acohido

SMS toll fraud is spiking. I learned all about the nuances of deploying – and defending – these insidious attacks in a recent visit with Arkose Labs CEO, Kevin Gosschalk, who explained how the perpetrators victimize businesses that use text messages to validate phone users signing up for a new account.

The fraudsters set themselves up as “affiliates” of phone companies in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam and then use bots to apply for online accounts, en masse, at a targeted business. The con: each text message the business then sends in return —  to validate the applicant — generates a fee for the phone company which it shares with the affiliate.

This fraudulent activity usually remains undetected until the business receives a bill for an unusually high number of text messages sent to seemingly legitimate users.

As a solution, Arkose Labs aims to increase the cost of attacks, making them less profitable for the fraudsters.

Guest expert: Kevin Gosschalk, CEO, Arkose Labs

Their technology detects malicious actions and offers differing levels of challenges, based on a risk threshold. They also provide their customers with threat intelligence that can be used to prevent attackers from profiting. For a full drill down on our discussion, please give the accompanying podcast a listen.

This is one more example of cybercriminals cleverly exploiting the flaws in a convenient business process. It surely won’t be the last. I’ll keep watch and keep reporting.

Acohido

Pulitzer Prize-winning business journalist Byron V. Acohido is dedicated to fostering public awareness about how to make the Internet as private and secure as it ought to be.

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(LW provides consulting services to the vendors we cover.)

June 30th, 2023