As Sender ID Registry deadline looms, does SMS still matter?
ABOUT a year ago, a wave of SMS spoofing scam incidents dominated headlines in Singapore. Among the most high-profile cases were customers of a well-known local bank, who collectively lost more than S$13.7 million, as well as love scams and con job openings.
One year on, Singapore has come a long way in strengthening its preparedness and capabilities in preventing such SMS-targeted scams. Public awareness and education campaigns have been rolled out nationwide. Younger and more tech-savvy citizens are also playing a more active role in helping senior members of their households stay alert.
In addition, the government has mandated that all organisations join the Singapore SMS Sender ID Registry (SSIR) if they want to continue using branded Sender IDs.
This means, for example, sending a message with their identity as “Brand ABC” or “XYZ Corp” instead of a phone number.
Businesses in Singapore have until Jan 30 to complete their Sender ID registration. Otherwise, from Jan 31, their SMS to customers will be marked with a prominent label: “Likely-SCAM”. In just another six months after that, they will not be allowed to use Sender IDs completely.
Is SMS still important today?
All of this trouble to verify the identity of Sender IDs raises the question: Is it all worth it?
After all, the term “SMS” conjures up the texting fever of the early 2000s, when phones were barely smart and SMS allowances the defining competitive feature of telco plans.
Nonetheless, recent research reaffirms the continued importance of SMS as a channel for consumers in Singapore.
A report by market research firm Gartner showed that SMS open and response rates can be as high as 98 per cent and 45 per cent respectively. This is much higher than the corresponding figures of 20 per cent and 6 per cent for email.
Certain types of information are also particularly well-received through SMS, according to a report published by Singapore-based tech firm Toku. For instance, most Singapore consumers (57 per cent) prefer to receive SMS for reminders. A third say they would miss appointments without SMS reminders.
Given this continued reliance on SMS, it is critical for consumers to have the ability to verify the source of an SMS, that the message truly is coming from whom the sender claims it is.
The SSIR is an important step in this direction, and it is beneficial for all organisations to get onboard as soon as possible before the deadline.
Looking beyond SMS
But even as the SSIR takes aim at the Sender ID issue, scammers are already moving beyond SMS into instant messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram.
On such messaging apps, it is much easier to impersonate someone else, and more difficult for authorities to track potential scams for intervention.
To maintain consumer trust and safety, businesses need to start looking beyond SMS and consider alternative channels of communication with their customers.
Having a greater variety of trusted communication channels will reduce the openings for scammers to target.
Our research uncovered that voice calling and in-app communications are two rising stars in an organisation’s customer engagement toolbox.
More than half of consumers say they prefer to call an organisation when they want to seek clarifications immediately or resolve issues more quickly.
Automated responses will not cut it – 47 per cent remarked that they prefer to talk to a real human.
In these situations, having an identifiable local phone number matters. When faced with no local number to call, 78 per cent reported they would look for an alternative communication channel – potentially opening them up to unauthorised and unsafe channels.
If an organisation has its own official app, it can also be used as a channel for customer communications. Some 67 per cent of consumers say that they prefer to communicate within an organisation’s app, not only for convenience, but also because of the associated trustworthiness.
The Singapore consumer today is a digital breed. Despite advances in cybersecurity, the digital landscape remains ripe for exploitation by scammers.
By joining the SSIR and diversifying their communication channels, organisations can play a greater role in ensuring the safety and security of their customers.
Thomas Laboulle is founder and CEO at Toku.
