SMS AIT prevention traffic limitations by market
The traffic limitations described on this page apply exclusively to SMS traffic. They do not apply to any other LINK Mobility product, channel, or messaging service.
Note: For the current contractual description of SMS Traffic Limitations, see the MyLINK CGI SMS API Appendix.
Artificially Inflated Traffic (AIT) is SMS traffic generated without a genuine user request, for example, when attackers repeatedly trigger OTPs, verification messages, login codes, or similar messages.
To prevent or reduce the negative effects of Artificially Inflated Traffic (AIT) and other traffic fraud, LINK Mobility may apply SMS Traffic Limitations, including limitations related to countries where LINK has identified a heightened risk of AIT or other fraudulent activity.
Risk Countries
Countries where LINK has defined a heightened risk of AIT and other fraudulent activity:
| Country | ISO code | SMS traffic limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | AF | Yes |
| Algeria | DZ | Yes |
| Angola | AO | Yes |
| Azerbaijan | AZ | Yes |
| Bangladesh | BD | Yes |
| Belarus | BY | Yes |
| Burkina Faso | BF | Yes |
| Cambodia | KH | Yes |
| Cameroon | CM | Yes |
| Cape Verde | CV | Yes |
| Côte d'Ivoire | CI | Yes |
| Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) | KP | Yes |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | CD | Yes |
| Timor-Leste | TL | Yes |
| Egypt | EG | Yes |
| Eritrea | ER | Yes |
| Gabon | GA | Yes |
| Georgia | GE | Yes |
| Ghana | GH | Yes |
| Guatemala | GT | Yes |
| Guinea | GN | Yes |
| Haiti | HT | Yes |
| Iran | IR | Yes |
| Iraq | IQ | Yes |
| Jordan | JO | Yes |
| Kazakhstan | KZ | Yes |
| Kenya | KE | Yes |
| Kyrgyzstan | KG | Yes |
| Laos | LA | Yes |
| Lebanon | LB | Yes |
| Libya | LY | Yes |
| Malawi | MW | Yes |
| Mali | ML | Yes |
| Mauritania | MR | Yes |
| Mauritius | MU | Yes |
| Moldova | MD | Yes |
| Mozambique | MZ | Yes |
| Myanmar | MM | Yes |
| Namibia | NA | Yes |
| Niger | NE | Yes |
| Nigeria | NG | Yes |
| Oman | OM | Yes |
| Pakistan | PK | Yes |
| Russia | RU | Yes |
| Senegal | SN | Yes |
| Somalia | SO | Yes |
| South Africa | ZA | Yes |
| South Sudan | SS | Yes |
| Sri Lanka | LK | Yes |
| Sudan | SD | Yes |
| Syria | SY | Yes |
| Tanzania | TZ | Yes |
| Togo | TG | Yes |
| Tunisia | TN | Yes |
| Uganda | UG | Yes |
| Ukraine | UA | Yes |
| Uzbekistan | UZ | Yes |
| Venezuela | VE | Yes |
| Vietnam | VN | Yes |
| Yemen | YE | Yes |
| Zambia | ZM | Yes |
| Zimbabwe | ZW | Yes |
Being listed does not mean that messaging to or from a country is unlawful, prohibited, or inherently fraudulent. The list reflects LINK Mobility’s current assessment of traffic and fraud risk for this preventive control.
How the Traffic Limitation Works
For Risk Countries, up to 2.500 SMS per month in total can be sent to blocked countries. For the current contractual description of SMS Traffic Limitations, see the MyLINK CGI SMS API Appendix.
The Traffic Limitation is set in accordance with the Customer’s instructions and agreed in the Service Order. Make sure your contract specifies the correct Traffic Limitation for your intended use.
If you expect regular or high-volume traffic to a listed country, contact LINK Mobility Support or your Account Manager to make sure the appropriate Traffic Limitations and configuration are in place.
AIT prevention Traffic Limitations are an additional safeguard. They do not replace the Customer’s responsibility to develop, implement and maintain appropriate procedures to identify and prevent AIT and any other fraudulent activity, including securing and monitoring the applications, accounts, APIs, authentication flows and credentials used to generate SMS traffic.
Because AIT can resemble legitimate traffic, LINK Mobility cannot guarantee that all AIT or other unauthorized traffic will be detected or blocked before messages are processed or charges are incurred.
Adjustment to Traffic Limitation
If you need legitimate SMS traffic to a listed country, contact LINK Mobility Support or your Account Manager and provide:
- Destination country or countries
- Expected SMS volume
- Messaging use case
- Expected traffic pattern and peak volumes
- Expected start date, if relevant
LINK Mobility will review the request and determine the appropriate Traffic Limitation or service configuration.
Submitting a request does not guarantee an increase in the Traffic Limitation, an exemption, or a specific configuration.
Why These Controls Are in Place
AIT can generate large volumes of SMS traffic in a short period of time and may result in unexpected traffic, service disruption, and messaging costs.
The Traffic Limitations are intended to help reduce exposure to AIT, identify unusual traffic patterns, and provide an additional layer of protection for messaging services.
They are preventive controls only and do not constitute a guarantee that fraudulent, abusive, unauthorized, or unexpected traffic will be prevented.
Changes to Traffic Limitations
AIT methods, traffic patterns, and risk levels can change over time. LINK Mobility may therefore update the countries covered, adjust Traffic Limitations, or apply other traffic controls where reasonably necessary.
Traffic Limitations agreed with each Customer can be adjusted upon the Customer’s request. LINK can assess and discuss the appropriate Traffic Limitation for your use based on legitimate traffic requirements, service configuration, traffic patterns, operational considerations, and relevant risk indicators.
Traffic Limitations applied will at all times be subject to the applicable Customer Agreement.