How does SMS filtering work?

With LOX24’s filter functions you can limit your costs and protect yourself against attacks and malfunctions. It is an insurance for your SMS dispatch, no matter if you send your SMS via API or another gateway.

You can easily protect your account and API access from unwanted SMS with the helpful filter functions of LOX24. Massive and unwanted SMS messages can often be caused by “SMS pumping fraud” or application malfunction.

What exactly is the SMS filter able to do?

With the LOX24 SMS filter, you can restrict the sending of SMS via the API and also via all other channels.
You can define the monitored period, the number of SMS, the permitted destinations and the type of message (text or voice).

Potential limitations include

In addition to the time period and number of text messages, there are four options to specifically limit the sending of text messages to protect yourself from attacks or disruptions:

Total number of messages:

You can limit the total number of SMS messages sent for a specified period of time, such as an hour or a day. This filter is best used when your app doesn't have any special settings to prevent bulk SMS sending.

Limit countries and networks

You can also restrict or allow SMS to be sent to certain countries. Attacks often involve sending text messages to very exotic and expensive destinations.

Limit phone numbers

If you want to reduce the number of text messages sent to certain phone numbers or prevent other phone numbers from receiving text messages, you can store the phone numbers directly in the filter.

Filter voice messages:

If you do not want to send voice messages to a landline, for example, you can also block them. This is especially useful if you are sending links in the text message that are difficult to understand on the phone.

To set up the SMS filter, follow these steps

Now comes the exciting part – the implementation. Follow these steps to enable the filter feature:

You can find the configuration in your web account under Settings and Filters.
Click on the “Create SMS filter” button.
You will then have the option to choose between the four filters.

Total filter

You can use this filter to limit the total number of SMS sent in a given period. This allows you to conserve your SMS budget.

Enter the maximum total number of SMS messages you want to send as the limit.
Enter the time period to which the limitation should apply.
This can be several days or just several minutes.
All you have to do is save the filter and it will be active immediately. You will only be charged if an SMS is filtered, otherwise it is free.

Country filter

You can use this filter to restrict or block shipping to specific countries. This is especially useful for high-priced destinations that are targeted in attacks.

Select the countries for which SMS should be filtered or the SMS that should not be filtered. — Specify the countries for which the filter should apply, or the countries for which it should not apply (negative condition).

Enter the maximum total number of SMS you want to send as the limit. If you do not want to send SMS to these countries, simply enter zero.
Enter the time period to which the limitation should apply.
This can be several days or just several minutes. If the limit was zero, this does not matter.
In the conditions, you can either specify the countries to which you want to limit SMS sending, or you can specify only the countries to which you want to send SMS, excluding all others.
For the negative conditions, select whether you entered the countries to be filtered in the previous step (unchecked) or all countries other than those listed (checked).

Voice filter

You can use this filter to restrict or block the sending of voice messages. This is useful, for example, if you do not want to send text messages to landlines. However, this filter only applies to voice messages that are sent via Economy, Pro or Direct.
If you explicitly send a Text2Speech SMS, it will of course not be filtered.

Enter the maximum total number of voicemails you want to send as the limit. If you do not want to send any voicemails at all, simply enter zero.
Enter the time period to which the limitation should apply.
This can be several days or just several minutes. If the limit was zero, this does not matter.

Telephone filter

You can use this filter to restrict sending to specific numbers or to all numbers except the specified ones.

Filter specific phone numbers or enable only specific phone numbers — Enter the phone numbers that should only receive a limited number of SMS messages or the numbers that should not be filtered (negative condition).

Enter the maximum total number of SMS you want to send as the limit. If you do not want to send any SMS at all, simply enter zero.
Enter the time period to which the limitation should apply.
This can be several days or just several minutes. If the limit was zero, this does not matter.
Under Condition, enter either the phone numbers to which the restriction applies or the phone numbers to exclude from the filter (negative condition).
The negative condition specifies whether the filter should apply to all phone numbers not mentioned in the previous step (enabled) or only to the phone numbers mentioned above (disabled).

And why should I use the LOX24 SMS filter?

To keep your SMS costs under control in any situation, the LOX24 SMS filter is your insurance.

SMS Pumping Fraud

This is a type of scam in which fraudsters request a large number of SMS messages from unprotected endpoints. They use automated bots to create fake requests for one-time passwords (OTP) or other SMS-based services. This results in high SMS costs for companies.

Misconfiguration

An error caused by incorrect program configuration can affect the logic of sending SMS and result in sending a large number of unwanted SMS messages to your customers. This can be costly and annoying for your customers.

Excessive use

If you only have a certain budget for sending SMS, our filters will protect you from exceeding it. Only the maximum number of SMS you wish to receive will be sent.