# Telecom Fraud Prevention Checklist - Canonical URL: https://www.broadnet.me/guides/telecom-fraud-prevention-checklist - Language: en - Publisher: BroadNet (https://www.broadnet.me) - Markdown version of the page above, generated from the rendered page. Operator security Free checklist A defence checklist covering the major telecom messaging & voice fraud types: AIT / SMS pumping, SIM-box bypass, smishing, grey routes, and Wangiri — with practical controls for each. 31 checkpoints 2 min read Updated July 14, 2026 Email me the PDF For fraud, risk, and security teams at enterprises and mobile operators. What's inside 1. 01AIT / SMS pumping (artificially inflated traffic) 2. 02SIM-box & interconnect bypass 3. 03Smishing & sender-ID spoofing 4. 04Grey routes & A2P leakage 5. 05Wangiri & voice-related fraud 6. 06Governance & continuous improvement [Browse all guides](https://www.broadnet.me/guides) The short version Telecom fraud spans both messaging and voice, and most enterprises and operators are exposed to several types at once. This checklist organises the major fraud categories with the controls that actually reduce each one — from artificially inflated traffic that drains OTP budgets, to SIM-box bypass that steals operator termination revenue, to smishing that erodes subscriber trust. Map each control to an owner and a detection signal; fraud prevention is an operational discipline, not a one-time project. The checklist ## Work through it, tick as you go. Diagram Where an SMS firewall sits in the operator network 1. Inbound A2P and interconnect traffic From aggregators and international partners 2. SMS firewall Inspects every message in real time 3. Operator SMSC Only clean traffic is delivered 4. Subscriber handset - Grey routes, spoofed sender IDs and spam are blocked - Legitimate A2P traffic is identified and billed 01 ### AIT / SMS pumping (artificially inflated traffic) Fraudsters trigger legitimate-looking OTP/verification sends to numbers they control, inflating a sender's bill. Often run through complicit or compromised routes. - Rate-limit verification requests per number, IP, device, and account. - Monitor conversion (code entered) per destination — pumped traffic has near-zero conversion. - Alert on sudden volume to unusual country/number ranges. - Add challenge/CAPTCHA on velocity spikes and cap resends per session. - Validate numbers with HLR / number intelligence before sending. - Partner with a provider that offers AIT detection and route-level intervention. 02 ### SIM-box & interconnect bypass SIM boxes terminate international traffic as local, stealing operator termination revenue and degrading quality. - Deploy test-call / test-SMS generation to detect off-net termination (A-number mismatch). - Analyse CDRs for SIM-box signatures: high fan-out, low mobility, unusual call patterns. - Correlate signalling and traffic data to flag numbers behaving as gateways. - Maintain block lists and feed detections back into the firewall/switch in near-real-time. - Coordinate with interconnect partners on suspected bypass routes. 03 ### Smishing & sender-ID spoofing SMS phishing impersonates trusted brands to steal credentials; spoofed sender IDs make it convincing. - Operate a sender-ID registry / whitelist and block unregistered use of protected IDs. - Scan message content for phishing URLs and category-filter known-bad domains. - Deploy an SMS firewall with impersonation and spoofing detection. - Provide subscriber reporting (e.g. spam-forwarding shortcode) and act on reports. - Educate enterprise senders on consistent, verifiable branding. 04 ### Grey routes & A2P leakage A2P traffic delivered as P2P to dodge termination fees — the largest single messaging-revenue leak for many operators. - Home-route MT-terminating traffic through the firewall to close the bypass gap. - Detect SS7 MT-bypass and MO-faking patterns at the signalling layer. - Enforce A2P commercial policy: only registered, billed enterprise senders reach subscribers. - Reconcile per-route to quantify leakage recovered after enforcement. - Reference GSMA IR.71 / FS.11 controls when defining detection rules. 05 ### Wangiri & voice-related fraud Wangiri ('one ring and cut') and revenue-share fraud lure victims into calling premium/international numbers. - Detect one-ring / short-duration inbound bursts from premium-rate ranges. - Block or challenge outbound calls to high-risk international premium destinations. - Monitor for IRSF (international revenue-share fraud) test-call patterns. - Rate-limit and alert on abnormal call-back volumes to flagged ranges. - Share intelligence with interconnect partners and industry fraud forums. 06 ### Governance & continuous improvement - Assign a clear owner and escalation path for each fraud category. - Maintain a threat-intelligence feed and update detection rules regularly. - Run periodic red-team / test-traffic exercises to validate controls. - Track fraud KPIs: leakage recovered, false-positive rate, mean time to detect/block. - Align controls with GSMA fraud & security guidance and your regulator's requirements. References - [GSMA · fraud & security (FS series)](https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/technologies/security/) - [GSMA · IR.71 SMS interworking](https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/technologies/networks/) Standards and regulator references cited in this guide. BroadNet is a GSMA Associate Member and MEF member operating carrier-grade messaging since 2003. Related - [SMS Firewall (operators)](https://www.broadnet.me/operators/sms-firewall) - [Operator solutions](https://www.broadnet.me/operators) - [SMS grey routes explained](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/what-is-grey-route-sms) - [SMS firewall RFP checklist](https://www.broadnet.me/guides/sms-firewall-rfp-checklist) - [OTP delivery optimization checklist](https://www.broadnet.me/guides/otp-delivery-optimization-checklist) Keep a copy ## Want this as a shareable PDF? Send it to your inbox to circulate with your team — no spam, one email. Email me the PDF Get the PDF ## Email me the Telecom Fraud Prevention Checklist. We'll send a clean, printable PDF of this checklist to your inbox so you can circulate it with your team or keep it for your RFP. A messaging engineer will follow up only if you ask — no sales spam. - Printable, one-page-per-section PDF - Everything on this page, formatted to share - Optional: a call with a BroadNet engineer Prefer not to share your email? Use Print / save as PDF above — the full checklist is on this page. Direct line · reply within one business day ## Send me the Telecom Fraud Prevention Checklist Tell us where to send it. We'll email the PDF and only follow up if you ask. 1. 1 Who 2. 2 Need 3. 3 Context