„If any person could send hundreds of thousands of SMS messages from their phone within seconds, the consequences could be very serious. Imagine a false message about an alleged warning from state institutions, a bank security incident, or another emergency situation. Reaching a large audience, such information could even cause widespread panic. Therefore, mass SMS sending is not freely accessible – it is carried out through dedicated solutions that apply additional control,“ says Modestas Ropė, Director of Next Generation Networks at Bitė Lietuva.
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A special service is used
When organizations need to reach many people at once, they use not the usual phone SMS function, but a special “Bulk SMS” service. It allows sending large quantities of SMS messages simultaneously, receiving recipients’ responses, choosing the sending time, and displaying the company or organization name as the sender instead of a phone number. Sending limits are set individually for each client according to their needs.
“This service is intended for organizations that need to quickly and reliably reach many people. It is used by banks, healthcare institutions, state authorities, delivery services, retail chains, and other companies. Most often, authentication codes, shipment notifications, appointment reminders, or other important information that must reach the recipient immediately are sent,” lists one of the leaders of the digital services company Bitė Lietuva.
Along with SMS sending, clients are provided with a technical platform, sending management capabilities, sender identification, and additional security measures.
Recognizes mass sending
Although telecom companies never read SMS content, they monitor message sending patterns, such as how many messages are sent from one phone number in a short time, whether replies are received, and whether such activity corresponds to normal use of communication services.
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“If SMS messages are constantly sent from the same phone number but almost no replies are received, this is no longer normal communication. Such activity may indicate sending advertising content or even an attempt to scam. Since we cannot analyze SMS content, we assess risk based on sending patterns – sending intensity, number of recipients, and other technical indicators,” explains M. Ropė.
According to him, Bitė’s preventive systems automatically monitor unusual SMS flows and can identify potential spam or abuse.
“Such a system ensures that mass SMS sending is used for legitimate purposes and that the sender is clearly identified. This helps protect people from mass fraud campaigns and false messages,” says M. Ropė.
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