What is happening with SMS headers

What is happening with SMS headers

Although this is not new news as such, it is worth highlighting the topic again.  Because of the amount of SPAM and attacks being proliferated through SMS, there is now a national registry for any non-numeric header.

If you want to send out SMS’s which you don’t necessarily want a reply to, but you do want the recipient to see it has come from you, then using the 11-character alpha-numeric SMS header which displays who the message appears to come from, is a great solution.  So instead of your message coming from a number it can come from “PRODOCOM” for example. This is more likely to get the recipient to open the message and see what it says rather than a random number.

If you get a message that appears to come from your bank with a link in it, although the smart thing to do is to check with your bank to make sure it is legitimate, some have been fooled into clicking on links and then having their device hacked, or simply fooled into giving over enough personal information to get their accounts hacked.  The offenders are using SMS headers to make it look like the SMS is from your bank.  So there clearly needs to be some control over the use of SMS headers.  Hence the national registry.

Part of registering is providing a written reason why you should have the right to use that header.  So, if you want to use an alpha-numeric header, you can fill out a request on our site under forms, upload your written reason and then leave it to us.  We will then apply for it to be registered for you and will advise you and make it available once approved.  There is no charge for this for our clients.

For more information, please call us on 1300 132 739 or email support@prodocom.com.au