IMDA mandates SMS sender ID registration; telcos to filter potential scam messages

THE Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) on Friday (Oct 14) announced that it will require all organisations that use SMS sender IDs to register them with the Singapore SMS Sender ID Registry (SSIR) with their unique entity number (UEN).

Organisations will need to pay a one-time set up fee of S$500, and annual fee of S$200 per sender ID that they protect. Interested organisations can contact the Singapore Network Information Centre from Oct 31 to start the registration process.

SMS sender IDs are the alphanumeric names that organisations use to identify themselves when sending SMSes with. Some IDs were spoofed to impersonate banks and scam victims earlier this year.

IMDA said that while the full registration requirement will take effect on Jan 31, 2023, it also understands that organisations may need more time to prepare and register.

As a transition measure, all SMSes sent with non-registered SMS sender IDs after the requirement takes effect will be channelled to a sender ID with the header “Likely-SCAM” for around six months.

“Consumers are advised to exercise caution upon receiving such SMS as these are non-registered sender IDs.

“Merchants are also urged to have their sender IDs registered as early as possible with the SSIR,” IMDA said.

The regulator noted that there has been a 64 per cent reduction in scams through SMSes from the fourth quarter of last year to the second quarter of this year after the SSIR was established in March 2022. Scam cases perpetrated by SMSes made up 8 per cent of scam reports in the second quarter of this year, IMDA said.

It noted that foreign-based businesses can obtain a Singapore UEN by registering with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority. These businesses can register local subsidiaries or register as a foreign branch office.

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In addition to registering their sender IDs, organisations will be required to use aggregators that participate in the SSIR. Aggregators are service providers that help organisations send SMSes.

Aggregators that send SMSes with alphanumeric sender IDs will also need to obtain a Services-Based Operations (Class) licence from IMDA for a one-time registration fee of S$200.

These licenced aggregators will then be required to verify that the organisations they service are bona fide. They will also be required to collect and verify the UEN of these organisations as part of their Know Your Customer process and ensure that proper client onboarding process takes place.

In addition, IMDA said that telcos will implement SMS anti-scam filtering solutions within their mobile networks to filter scam messages before they reach consumers.

The regulator noted that machine-reading technology has made it possible to identify and filter potential scam messages before they reach consumers.

It added that mobile operators Singtel, Starhub, M1 will implement anti-scam filtering solutions in their networks from end-October 2022.

In response to media queries, a Simba spokesperson said that the telco will also implement such filter solutions on its network from end-October 2022.