Prohibited Messaging Use Cases

Within the mobile messaging space, some marketing campaigns or segments are considered problematic by the carriers due to a high volume of subscriber complaints and propensity to be associated with deceptive practices - in other words, “high risk” and therefore prohibited use cases.

As stated by the CTIA, “Message Senders should use reasonable efforts to prevent and combat unwanted or unlawful messaging traffic, including spam and unlawful spoofing. Specifically, Message Senders should take affirmative steps and employ tools that can monitor and prevent Unwanted Messages and content, including for example content that: (1) is unlawful, harmful, abusive, malicious, misleading, harassing, excessively violent, obscene/illicit, or defamatory; (2) deceives or intends to deceive (e.g., phishing messages intended to access private or confidential information); (3) invades privacy; (4) causes safety concerns; (5) incites harm, discrimination, or violence; (6) is intended to intimidate; (7) includes malware; (8) threatens Consumers; or (9) does not meet age-gating requirements. Message Senders should take steps to ensure that marketing content is not misleading and complies with the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Truth-In-Advertising rules.”

The landscape of SPAM has changed and carriers are taking a zero-tolerance approach to traffic that exposes subscribers to shady companies who use texts to tempt end-users into taking certain opt-ins. From “wipe out debt” to job scams asking consumers to share personal information or hand over money, many of these SPAM texts are sent by fee-charging businesses that make unrealistic promises to help with consumers’ money worries and prey on people in debt.

The following use-cases have been deemed high-risk and will be blocked by carriers even when the program claims to support opt-in and opt-out mechanisms. That’s right - even if there is an opt-in and an opt-out, the use-case could still be problematic. In the case of affiliate marketing, for instance, the consumer can text “STOP,” but what exactly are they stopping? More often than not, they are opting out of a single number, but their own number has been shared to the subscriber lists of hundreds or thousands of numbers across multiple content providers. This is the primary reason why affiliate marketing is high-risk and blocked by carriers.

Ultimately, carriers reserve the right to reject programs at their discretion on all messaging routes including short codes, toll-free numbers and standard (local) numbers. Please note that as new SPAM campaigns are identified every day, the below list may change or evolve at any time.

• Lead/Commission Generation, Affiliate Marketing
• Marketing of Third-Party Loan Forgiveness, Loan Matching, Loan/Debt Consolidation, Debt/Student Debt Relief
• High-Risk Financial Services*
• Finance/Investment Opportunities
• Tax Relief
• Credit Report Scoring, Credit Repair/Related Content
• Work From Home, “Get Rich Quick,” Third-Party Job Recruitment, “Secret Shopper”
• Phishing, Fraudulent/Deceptive/Misdirecting Links
• CBD/Marijuana Dispensary Promotions, GLP-1 Promotions, Tobacco, Vape, Federally Illegal Drugs
• Promotions of Any Illegal Substances or Prescriptions
• Gambling
• Sweepstakes**
• Any content containing malware or non-secure app downloads
• Any content in violation of CTIA policies or guidelines such as SHAFT.***

* Some examples of these problematic “High-Risk Financial Services” campaigns include but are not limited to payday loans, short-term loans, auto loans, mortgage loans, student loans, stock alerts, cryptocurrency.
** Prohibited on toll-free. Sweepstakes may be acceptable on 10DLC long code routes dependent on carrier codes of conduct.
*** Note that while SHAFT is technically a policy which applies to short codes, any content on any sender ID type found to be in violation of SHAFT may be subject to blocking by the carrier or by Convey.

Cannabis or CBD Message Content

Although the sale of cannabis has been legalized in some states, it is illegal on the federal level. Because of this, SMS and MMS messages related in any way to promoting the sale or use of cannabis or CBD products are not allowed in the United States. Convey’s Acceptable Use Policy is reflective of U.S. carrier rules in this area.

This includes any cannabis-related message that relates to the marketing or sale of a cannabis or CBD product regardless of whether those messages explicitly contain cannabis terms, images or links to cannabis websites.