Sept. 12, 2024
How do online accounts stay secure? With all the cyber attacks, threats, and security breaches these days, it's a daunting question for people and businesses alike. In this post, we'll be taking you through user SMS verification -- a type of identity verification where users are asked to enter a code that's been sent to their phone -- step by step. Through this process businesses can keep their own data, and their users' accounts, safe from bad actors. You'll learn the what, how, and why of user SMS verification, the benefits, and real-life examples that augment more than just password security -- a relatively weak defense on its own -- especially as they become more and more common and sophisticated.
User SMS verifications are a way for an app or website to send you a text message with a unique code that you then have to use to prove that you're actually you. This is a huge upgrade over just a password because now you have to prove that you own the phone and the account to unlock or perform some important action on the account.
You'll most often see SMS verifications in MFA, or multi-factor authentications. MFA is important because it uses multiple channels to prove you are who you say you are, not just your password. And because SMS codes are a way to prove you are who you say you are, it means that there's a second gate to keep people out of your account. Most cybersecurity experts agree that you should be using multi-factor for everything online, especially since most people are still using 123456 as their password. With MFA, even if your password is stolen, the fact that there's an SMS verification step means that the attacker would need access to your phone as well, which is another hoop to jump through.
And SMS verifications work pretty much the same: it sends you a unique code to your registered phone number, and you'll have to enter this code to log in or to do some important action. This is widely used and built into the experience of a lot of online services, including banking, social, e-commerce, and any other type of online service. And for good reason: you only want the real account owner to be able to take this action. The process for SMS verifications usually works like this: when you sign up, you give your phone number. Then when you log in, you also give your username and password, and you wait to receive a one-time verification code to your phone. Once you receive the text, you input that code into a form field on the app or the website, and then you get what you want. If you go through the steps, you'll have a pretty solid way to protect yourself.
As convenient as SMS authentication is, it's crucial to identify and understand its limitations, especially surrounding security. Many businesses use it in their security arsenal, but it's susceptible to attacks such as phishing and SIM swapping, which can nullify the effectiveness of SMS-based authentication entirely. So really, businesses need to be cognizant and keep striving for more secure alternatives, like push notifications or other multi-factor authentication to keep their customers safe.
With a 71% rise in cyber attacks using stolen credentials from 2022 to 2023, securing user SMS check has never been more important. When we consider that 62% of people use the same passwords for all their accounts, and the more verification methods you have the better -- SMS codes will do just fine. As technology develops, humans and organizations have to change and follow the new best practices for securing important information.
SMS verification is more important than ever. With user data becoming more and more sensitive, and cyber threats such as identity theft and data breaches on the rise, businesses and individuals need to protect themselves. One of the best ways to do that is by using SMS verification to protect your users. Passwords are obsolete in our modern world. Most people find it nearly impossible to create unique strong passwords for every website they frequent. Instead, they opt to use the same weak password for every website or use a weak password across the board. This poses a security risk. SMS verification serves as an added layer of security. Even if someone knows the user's password, they still need to have the one-time code sent to the user's phone in order to login. This makes it extremely difficult for a bad actor to gain access to the user's account. By enforcing 2-factor authentication, not only are your user accounts secure, your users will trust you more, because they know you've got their back.
Cybersecurity threats are all around us, and they never stop changing. Companies need to adapt by updating their security practices accordingly. For example, take phishing attacks. They’ve become more sophisticated, using social engineering to manipulate users into giving their password away--and it works because traditional passwords are a security liability. All an attacker has to do is get a user to “type in” their password to fake, real-looking sites which make up 81% of malicious phishing pages. SMS verification makes it much harder for attackers to achieve their goals by adding a second step.
When you give your user authentication process SMS verification, you’ll stop identity theft in its tracks. But that’s not all. SMS verification also helps users care about cybersecurity by showing them a (secure) reason to hate passwords, so they know why they need 2FA. The more your users care about the threats they face and the solutions they’re part of, the stronger their overall security culture will be--including changing passwords more often, and not clicking on suspicious links.
For businesses, strong SMS verification systems are a crucial step for security, but they also have another purpose. They're a legal requirement. With data protection laws like GDPR and CCPA, businesses need to protect customer data and privacy, or face fines and bad press.
SMS verification is an easy method for businesses to demonstrate that they're taking user security seriously and doing something about it. This will help to establish a culture of security within the organization and help employees and customers see that the business is careful about managing data. Additionally, SMS verification is another hurdle for hackers and unauthorized users to cross in order to gain access to the business's data. So, they're not only protecting themselves and their customers, they're demonstrating their strength on the digital marketplace.
SMS verification is becoming increasingly important to stay secure online. Whether you're protecting your accounts or your personal information, there are more reasons to use SMS verification to make sure only you are logging in to your accounts. Now that we have smartphones, typing in an SMS verification code for user authentication is a convenient way to keep unauthorized people off your accounts. That's one reason why 2FA, or two-factor authentication, has become so popular so quickly. Instead of just a password, users also have to provide a one-time passcode that is sent to their phone. In this guide, we'll explain what SMS verification is, how it's used, and how you can start using it.
SMS verification is a 3-step process that makes it easy for users to verify their identity and just much harder for attackers to crack. First, the user enters their phone number when they sign up for a service or an app. We'll use it to verify their identity later. Then, after the user enters their login, the server creates a unique SMS verification code and sends it to the phone number the user registered. The code is a temporary, one-time passcode that we'll use to verify that the person logging in is really who they say they are.
When the user receives the SMS verification code, they enter it into the app or website. This is where the server verifies that the person who's trying to log in has access to the phone number they registered with. Once the verification code is entered correctly, the user is verified. That's it. With SMS verification, you'll not only improve security, you'll make your login process easier and more secure for unauthorized users.
With recent technological advances, we've seen new ways to auto-verify SMS that make a big impact on UX. One of the methods you may already be familiar with is the SMS Retriever API. The SMS Retriever API helps apps auto-verify a user's SMS message. The user won't have to manually type the one-time code that you sent them in an SMS! This results in a much more seamless user experience, and users can breeze through verification with ease.
The SMS Retriever API sends a specifically formatted SMS which contains the one-time passcode as well as an app hash to ensure the message can only be received by your app. When the user receives the SMS, Google Play services will retrieve the message content and send the verification code to your app, no user input required. This means you can make it easier and more convenient for your users to verify their phone number, reduce sign-up friction, and potentially increase your app/service retention.
SMS verifications aren't just for account logins. Companies rely on the technology to reset passwords, to verify transactions, and for many other user actions that need to be verified, and in all of those cases, the extra layer of security that SMS verification provides is super valuable.
When you request a password reset, for instance, you typically receive a one-time passcode through SMS to verify your request. That way, we can make sure you are really the one who wants a password reset, and we can reduce unauthorized password changes at the same time. It's the same thing with transaction verification. We'd want that extra layer of security too, because we certainly don't want just anyone to be able to verify their way to a big pile of our money.
In an e-commerce context, businesses might use SMS verification for the checkout process to verify that the person checking out is really the person they say they are. By sending a one-time passcode to your phone, businesses can reduce fraud, and make it easier for you to trust them. All in all, SMS verification fulfills many different purposes across many different industries, and is a great example of a technology that is multi-usable, and is in high demand in the digital age.
Enabling SMS authentication can be an important security measure in digital applications, whether verifying a user's login or confirming a transfer. Below we'll detail the primary steps to enable user SMS check successfully.
To configure user SMS checks, you'll need to choose an SMS provider that's right for you, and that means right for your business. There are lots of options out there, so I'm going to profile a couple popular services to get you started: Twilio and AWS. Cost, scalability, delivery rates, and how well it works with your existing systems are just a few of the factors to keep in mind when weighing your options. Each provider has its own strengths. For example, SNS (Simple Notification Service) is pay-as-you-go and has an extensive API which makes it really versatile for different use cases.
Another factor to consider is international messaging, to ensure the provider can support the regions you operate in. You'll also want to make sure the provider meets the compliance you need (e.g. HIPAA, GDPR) and has features like tracking, analytics, and error handling.
Local laws about SMS aren't just about compliance, they also dictate how you, as the business, can use SMS to communicate—including how you can get user consent to receive codes, which you need to send them. This often means explicit consent, and you may need to work a little harder to get it, for example by sending a second SMS or email for validation.
Know the laws to avoid fines. For example, some regions may require a simple, convenient way for a user to opt out at any time. And have clear terms of use and privacy policies on your platform, so your users know how you will use, store, and protect their phone number.
Make it user-friendly. That's really the key here. And that starts with making it easy for people to enter their phone numbers in a way that makes sense to them, so the easier the better. For example, you can use input masks so that the phone numbers are formatted correctly, and the phone number is less likely to fail as it processes.
The user should enter their phone number and immediately get an SMS with a code. That SMS should be clear, short, and direct on how to complete verification. You should also put a timeout on verification codes so the user can't enter a code that's 5 days old and hope it still works. This makes it more secure and also encourages users to verify quickly.
Lastly, you should have fallbacks or other forms of verification in place, so that if for whatever reason users can't get SMS codes anymore, they can still verify using email or phone calls. Having multiple ways to verify makes this a seamless experience and also saves a whole lot of frustration.
If you manage all of these, you'll have a very secure SMS verification system without driving your users nuts.
As a business, you need a good SMS verification tool to keep your platform safe and provide a good experience for your users. SMS verification services allow you to verify your users using a text message, which can help you more easily weed out abusive users and fraudsters. When it comes time to pick a tool, there's a lot to think about, from what various SMS APIs can accomplish to how well it will perform as your user base grows.
Two of the most popular user SMS check options on the market are Twilio and Plivo. And with good reason—they're powerful, and you can get up and running in just a few minutes. They're reliable, and their documentation is thorough. So, you can get what you need set up with minimal fuss. Twilio, for example, has a wide-reaching API that makes it easy to send and receive SMS messages, implement 2FA, and manage user accounts, and more, all from a single system. Plivo can also handle all of those tasks, plus, in this case, with competitive pricing, and a user interface that's easy to use. Which makes it a strong option for either an early-stage startup or a larger business.
They're both equipped to handle very high traffic levels. That means that as you scale up, they'll scale with you. This can be particularly helpful if you're expecting fast growth, or if you have regular traffic spikes. In either case, you can depend on these tools to process your user SMS checks ultra-fast, and your users will complete SMS verification reliably—no more waiting around.
If you only need SMS testing MailSlurp is the best tool for test SMS generation! Because you can automate what would otherwise be extremely manual work, and be much more efficient. You can generate test phone numbers to send and receive SMS, and test that your application's SMS functionality is functioning correctly.
Automating SMS testing will save you time and help you avoid the inevitable human issues that arise in any manual process. Useful for developers who need to keep their applications up-to-date with the latest in user verification and data privacy standards. Plus, by making your SMS verification tests more efficient you'll be able to get new features to market much faster.
When you're choosing the right SMS verification for you, you'll want to compare your options on a few different factors. Price is probably one of the first things you'll look at. Different platforms will have different pricing structures (pay-as-you-go, subscription, etc.), so knowing how much this will cost and how much you'll use will help you land on a solution that optimizes performance and price.
Ease of use is also important. A nice interface and lots of resources will help your team get ramped up quickly so they can set up your SMS verification system quickly. You'll want something scalable as well, so it continues to work for you as your business grows.
Finally, good customer support is key to quickly getting issues resolved so your SMS verification is always working. Look for 24/7 support, and good documentation, as well as additional resources like forums or a community where you can ask questions. Keep all of these factors in mind and you'll be able to select an SMS verification tool that benefits you and your users will have a great experience.
In an increasingly digital world, SMS verifications add an extra layer of security to help protect user accounts and personal information. Two-factor authentication, which requires an additional step after a password based on a one-time code sent to your mobile number, reduces the risks of compromised passwords and unauthorized access, ultimately improving cybersecurity, reducing the prevalence of identity theft and phishing, and shoring up trust with users while aiding in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Although they have some shortcomings, SMS verifications are susceptible to SIM swapping and phishing; they're an important foundational layer for companies to protect users and themselves from a variety of threats. As technology continues to progress, we all need to work even harder to stay current with the latest best practices and security measures, both individuals and businesses.
The reason I say this is because it's easy to just make up numbers to complete the sentence, but you might be lying to yourself. If you don't have the numbers, don't make any up. If you do have the numbers, you can prove it to yourself that it's a good move (or not).
I'll show you what I mean. Remember I don't know what you're looking for so I can't look anything up myself. I'll also leave the screenshot up there for your reference.
The SMS verification process works in the following way: a user signs up with their phone number, enters their login details and then receives a one-time verification code via SMS. They are prompted to enter the code to complete the login/transaction. This lets the system know they are in possession of the phone number they signed up with and are, therefore, who they say they are.
These days, SMS verification is key! With the increase in cyber attacks, particularly brute-force password cracking, it provides a second level of authentication that greatly decreases the chance of someone gaining unauthorized access to an account and protects sensitive user data.
While SMS verification is handy, there's a downside—security holes. For instance, it's susceptible to phishing and SIM swapping, which can make SMS-based verification useless and allow a hacker to effectively hack your site or app.
You've probably encountered SMS verification changing the password to your email account, confirming financial transactions, and verifying your identity in order to take sensitive actions. That's why it's so widely used in so many different industries, like e-commerce and fintech.
When choosing an SMS service provider, businesses may have to think about pricing models, deliverability, scalability, international messaging, integrating with their existing systems, compliance, and message tracking.
You must comply with any regional regulations which require you to get user consent before you can SMS them, and provide an easy way for users to opt-out. You'll also need clear privacy policies and terms of service to let users know how you're going to treat their data, so that you can stay compliant.
Advances like the SMS Retriever API have made this process a lot easier, because it automatically reads the one-time code from the SMS message for you -- so you don't have to manually enter it. Which makes it a lot more convenient for your users, and just better all around.
Good solutions for SMS verification include Twilio and Plivo, both reputable for providing reliable, scalable services, as well as MailSlurp, which has been designed with a focus on automated SMS testing. They each have a ton of features that will make your life easier and more reliable, and your customers will love you for it.
By having an SMS verification system in place, businesses are showing that they take their customer's data seriously, and that they are a security-first company. This in turn creates trust with their users, helps prevent fraud, and makes sure their company is reputable in the digital marketplace.
user sms check on a smartphone screen
SMS Check