A2P Messaging product manager for EE, Kevin Britt, revealed in a Linkedin post that starting from 10th July 2024, the operator will block all banking and logistics-based SMS unless it's submitted via a single dedicated A2P Trusted bind.
The move will allow BT to implement more aggressive and robust blocking controls with the comfort of having no false positives.
Britt urged businesses to make sure they speak to their supplier to check they are prepared as a bespoke setup could be required.
He said that Commify, Infobip, Sinch, Stour Marine, Twilio, Vonage, and Webex CPaaS Solutions firms have confirmed they are ready for the change,
The move comes as Britt says BT has seen an 83% reduction in A2P SMS smishing on its network since March 2023.
This week, BT also announced EE is launching a new product named Scam Guard.
Scam Guard is a subscription service that offers customers three robust ways to fight fraud and avoid falling victim to scams.
The new product is priced starting from £1 a month and is designed to protect customers' calls, data, and online activity through spam and scam call labelling, dark web monitoring, and providing access to free Cyber Security Duo for three months.
“We have always prioritised the protection of our customers and our investment in Scam Guard is something we are all incredibly proud of. We truly believe it will make a significant contribution to the prevention of scams and fraudsters,” said Helen Burrows, Policy Director for BT.
“EE was a founding member of Stop Scams UK, and part of a cross-industry alliance to share intelligence on scams. We also employ security experts and network-level security to safeguard our network and customers from cyber-attacks. This is something we take seriously, and while we already block an impressive number of scams, there is always more that we can do. Scam Guard covers all bases so customers can feel safer on our network.”
