Brazil's Government Mandates Short-Code Registration and SMS Blocking to Curb Smishing Scams
The Brazilian federal government published new regulations on November 4, 2026 requiring telecom carriers to register companies that send bulk SMS via short codes and to block messages from unregistered senders. Anatel (Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações) will oversee implementation, which must occur within 90 days, with a possible extension. The measures aim to curb smishing scams, which a Cetic.br survey from August found affected 71% of respondents via SMS.
Detalhes técnicos
Under the new rules, each short code (short numeric sender IDs like "29222") must be tied to a single registered company, with exceptions requiring Anatel's technical justification. Companies using SMS sending services must verify client identity, maintain records identifying message senders, and cooperate with authorities to identify and halt fraudulent campaigns. Carriers must also implement automated monitoring to detect suspicious campaigns and sender-ID spoofing attempts.
Remediação
Telecom operators and SMS-sending intermediaries have up to 90 days to comply with the registration, blocking, verification, and monitoring requirements published in the Diário Oficial da União.
Linha do tempo
-
Brazil's Government Mandates Short-Code Registration and SMS Blocking to Curb Smishing Scams
ler a análise desta fonte ocultar
The Brazilian federal government published new regulations on November 4, 2026 requiring telecom carriers to register companies that send bulk SMS via short codes and to block messages from unregistered senders. Anatel (Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações) will oversee implementation, which must occur within 90 days, with a possible extension. The measures aim to curb smishing scams, which a Cetic.br survey from August found affected 71% of respondents via SMS.
Technical Details
Under the new rules, each short code (short numeric sender IDs like "29222") must be tied to a single registered company, with exceptions requiring Anatel's technical justification. Companies using SMS sending services must verify client identity, maintain records identifying message senders, and cooperate with authorities to identify and halt fraudulent campaigns. Carriers must also implement automated monitoring to detect suspicious campaigns and sender-ID spoofing attempts.
Remediation
Telecom operators and SMS-sending intermediaries have up to 90 days to comply with the registration, blocking, verification, and monitoring requirements published in the Diário Oficial da União.