SMS Verify API - Screen Recipients by Risk Score

This page walks you step-by-step through how to screen out potentially fraud-related SMS Verify recipients using a risk score before sending them a verification SMS. This feature is powered by a separate product, TeleSign Score.

You can do this all directly through the SMS Verify API, without using the Score API. This is more efficient than making an additional call to the Score API.

Keep the reference page POST /v1/verify/sms open in another window while you work through these steps.

Step 1: Connect Score and SMS Verify

1. Ask our Customer Support Team to enable Score for your SMS Verify account.
2. Decide on a risk score threshold in advance, in consultation with TeleSign. For more explanation of how to interpret Score results, see Understanding Your Score and Related Details in the Score documentation.

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NOTE:

Once this feature is enabled for your account, you do not need to include anything additional in your SMS Verify request to ensure that it is evaluated by Score.

Step 2: Send the SMS

Once our Customer Support Team notifies you that this feature is enabled, follow these steps.

1. Send a POST /verify/sms request to the SMS Verify REST API.
2. The phone number of the recipient included in the phone_number parameter is passed on to Score for evaluation.

SMS Verify Request

POST /v1/verify/sms HTTP/1.1
Authorization: Basic 12345678-9ABC-DEF0-1234-56789ABCDEF0:Uak4fcLTTH/Tv8c/Q6QMwl5t4ck=
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded; charset=utf-8
Host: rest-ww.telesign.com
phone_number=5552345678
&language=en-US
&template=Your code is $$CODE$$

3. Score calculates a risk score for that number. If the score exceeds your threshold, the verification is not sent. If the score is equal to or below your threshold, the message is sent.
4. Either way, the SMS Verify API response body includes additional packages (phone_type, risk, risk_insights, numbering) with information related to the number and its fraud risk, including the risk score.
5. If the verification message is not sent due to a high risk score, the property status.code in the response has a value of 233, and you are not charged for the transaction.

SMS Verify Response: Not Blocked

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
{
  "reference_id": "ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF0123456789",
  "sub_resource": "sms",
  "errors": [],
  "status": {
    "updated_on": "2015-04-17T22:26:43.784963Z",
    "code": 290,
    "description": "Message in progress"
  },
  "verify": {
    "code_state": "UNKNOWN",
    "code_entered": ""
  },
  "phone_type": {
    "code": "2",
    "description": "MOBILE"
  },
  "risk": {
    "recommendation": "allow",
    "score": 82,
    "level": "very low"
  },
  "risk_insights": {
    "status": 800,
    "category": [
      10002
    ],
    "a2p": [
      20001,
      20101,
      21002
    ],
    "p2p": [
      30004,
      30101,
      30201,
      30302,
      31008
    ],
    "number_type": [
      40005,
      40011
    ],
    "ip": [
      50001,
      50004
    ],
    "email": [
      60003,
      60006
    ]
  },
  "numbering": {
    "phone_number": "5558675309",
    "min_length": 10,
    "max_length": 10,
    "country_code": "1"
  }
}

SMS Verify Response: Blocked

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
{
  "reference_id": "ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF0123456789",
  "sub_resource": "sms",
  "errors": [],
  "status": {
    "updated_on": "2015-04-17T22:26:43.784963Z",
    "code": 233,
    "description": "Message blocked due to high risk score."
  },
  "verify": {
    "code_state": "UNKNOWN",
    "code_entered": ""
  },
  "phone_type": {
    "code": "2",
    "description": "MOBILE"
  },
  "risk": {
    "recommendation": "block",
    "score": 820,
    "level": "very high"
  },
  "risk_insights": {
    "status": 800,
    "category": [
      10002
    ],
    "a2p": [
      20001,
      20101,
      21002
    ],
    "p2p": [
      30004,
      30101,
      30201,
      30302,
      31008
    ],
    "number_type": [
      40005,
      40011
    ],
    "ip": [
      50001,
      50004
    ],
    "email": [
      60003,
      60006
    ]
  },
  "numbering": {
    "phone_number": "5558675309",
    "min_length": 10,
    "max_length": 10,
    "country_code": "1"
  }
}

Score Package Schemas

numbering

phone_type

risk

risk_insights