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

Ask our Customer Support Team to enable Score for your SMS Verify account.
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.

📘
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.

Send a POST /verify/sms request to the SMS Verify REST API.
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 $$CODE$$

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.
Either way, the SMS Verify API response body includes additional packages (highlighted below) with information related to the number and its fraud risk, including the risk score.
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"
  },
  "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"
  },
  "numbering": {
    "phone_number": "5558675309",
    "min_length": 10,
    "max_length": 10,
    "country_code": "1"
  }
}

Score Package Schemas

numbering

Property	Type	Description	Example
original	object	An object containing details about the original phone number included in the request.
original.phone_number	string	The base phone number. This is the phone number without the country dialing code.	7833012348
original.complete_phone_number	string	The base phone number prefixed with the country dialing code.	17833012348
original.country_code	string	A 1, 2, or 3-digit number representing the country dialing code. For example, the country dialing code for both the U.S.A. and Canada is `1`, and the country dialing code for the United Kingdom is `44`.
cleansing	object	An object containing details about how the phone number was cleansed. Phone cleansing corrects common formatting issues in submitted phone numbers.
cleansing.call	object	An object containing cleansing details about a phone number used for receiving voice calls.
cleansing.call.cleansed_code	integer	One of the phone number cleansing codes describing the cleansing operation TeleSign performed on the phone number. The default value is 100 (no changes were made to the phone number).	100
cleansing.call.country_code	string	A 1, 2, or 3-digit number representing the country dialing code. For example, the country dialing code for both the U.S.A. and Canada is `1`, and the country dialing code for United Kingdom is `44`.	1
cleansing.call.max_length	integer	The maximum number of digits allowed for phone numbers with this particular country dialing code.	10
cleansing.call.min_length	integer	The minimum number of digits allowed for phone numbers with this particular country dialing code.	10
cleansing.call.phone_number	string	The base phone number. This is simply the phone number without the country dialing code.	7833012348
cleansing.sms	object	An object containing cleansing details about a phone number used for receiving text messages.
cleansing.sms.cleansed_code	integer	One of the phone number cleansing codes describing the cleansing operation TeleSign performed on the phone number. The default value is `100` (no changes were made to the phone number).	100
cleansing.sms.country_code	string	A 1, 2, or 3-digit number representing the country dialing code. For example, the country dialing code for both the U.S.A. and Canada is `1`, and the country dialing code for United Kingdom is `44`.	1
cleansing.sms.max_length	integer	The maximum number of digits allowed for phone numbers with this particular country dialing code.	10
cleansing.sms.min_length	integer	The minimum number of digits allowed for phone numbers with this particular country dialing code.	10
cleansing.sms.phone_number	string	The base phone number. This is simply the phone number without the country dialing code.	7833012348

phone_type

Property	Type	Description	Example
code	string	One of the phone type codes.	2
description	string	Text describing the phone type.	MOBILE

risk

Property	Type	Description	Example	Validations
level	string	The severity of the risk.	low	Allowed Values: `low`, `medium`, `medium-high`, `high`
recommendation	string	The action that TeleSign recommends that you take based on the risk score.	allow	Allowed Values: `allow`, `flag`,`block`
score	integer	The risk score for this phone number.

Step 1: Connect Score and SMS Verify

📘NOTE:

Step 2: Send the SMS

Score Package Schemas

📘
NOTE: