Statistical spam message detection
A mobile telecommunication network monitors short messages and multimedia messages sent to non-existent mobile subscribers and selectively treats such messages as if sent to an existent recipient. The network then provides the sender with ordinary signaling related to successful message delivery so as to form traps to attract and detect messages such as spam messages. Spam messages are detectable as statistically significant presence of identical or sufficiently similar messages in a sufficiently large subset of unused subscriber numbers being assigned as traps for spam messages. The treatment of messages addressed to numbers assigned to trap use can further model normal usage of mobile subscriptions so as to inhibit simple determination of subscriber numbers that are used for trapping spam messages.
1. In a mobile communication network, a method for detecting unsolicited spam messages, comprising:
receiving from a sender a request for routing information to send a mobile message to a recipient, the mobile message referring to a message addressed using a subscriber number of a mobile telecommunication network;
detecting whether or not the recipient is a valid subscriber of the mobile communication network and:
if the recipient is not a valid subscriber of the mobile communication network, then:
simulating to the sender that the recipient is indeed a valid subscriber in order to provoke the sender to send the mobile message; and
identifying the mobile message as a suspected spam message;
if the recipient is a valid subscriber of the mobile communication network then:
proceeding to deliver a normal response to the request to deliver the routing information.
2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising selectively simulating to the sender that the recipient is indeed a mobile network subscriber based on one or more predetermined criteria.
3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the predetermined criteria comprises any one or more of the following: said recipient referring to a subscriber number that belongs to a predetermined portion of unallocated subscriber numbers; said recipient referring to a subscriber number that belongs to a predetermined proportion of unallocated subscriber numbers; selectively simulating to the sender that the recipient is indeed a mobile network subscriber in a predetermined portion of the requests or routing information; and selectively simulating to the sender that the recipient is indeed a mobile network subscriber in a predetermined proportion of the requests for routing information.
4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the size of the predetermined portion is set balancing between reliable detection of unsolicited messages and avoiding false delivery reports in case of accidental misaddressing of mobile messages.
5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the simulating imitates ordinary behavior of mobile subscribers.
6. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the simulating is configured to operate such that no charging or reduced charging is incurred to the sender when a mobile message is not delivered to an existing recipient.
7. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the mobile message is selected from group consisting of: a message of short messaging service; multimedia messaging service; picture messaging service; and mobile instant messaging service.
8. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the predetermined portion consists of a particular set of unallocated subscriber numbers or the predetermined portion is dynamically defined from among unallocated subscriber numbers.
9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the simulating imitates ordinary behavior of mobile subscribers.
10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the simulating is configured to operate such that no charging or reduced charging is incurred to the sender when a mobile message is not delivered to an existing recipient.
11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the mobile message is selected from group consisting of: a message of short messaging service; multimedia messaging service; picture messaging service; and mobile instant messaging service.
12. An apparatus for detecting unsolicited messages in a mobile communication network, comprising:
a receiver configured to receive from a sender a request for routing information for sending a mobile message to a recipient, the mobile message referring to a message addressed using a subscriber number of a mobile telecommunication network;
a processor configured to detect whether the recipient is an existing mobile communication network subscriber and:
if the recipient is not a valid subscriber of the mobile communication network, to simulate to the sender that the recipient is indeed a mobile communication network subscriber in order to provoke the sender to send the mobile message and to identify the mobile message as a suspected spam message;
if the recipient is a valid subscriber of the mobile communication network, to proceed to deliver a normal response to the request to deliver the routing information.
13. The apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to selectively simulate to the sender that the recipient is indeed a mobile network subscriber based on one or more predetermined criteria.
14. The apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the predetermined criteria comprises any one or more of the following: said recipient referring to a subscriber number that belongs to a predetermined portion of unallocated subscriber numbers; said recipient referring to a subscriber number that belongs to a predetermined proportion of unallocated subscriber numbers; selectively simulating to the sender that the recipient is indeed a mobile network subscriber in a predetermined portion of the requests or routing information; and selectively simulating to the sender that the recipient is indeed a mobile network subscriber in a predetermined proportion of the requests for routing information.
15. The apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the size of the predetermined portion is set balancing between reliable detection of unsolicited messages and avoiding false delivery reports in case of accidental misaddressing of mobile messages.
16. The apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the simulating imitates ordinary behavior of mobile subscribers.
17. The apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the simulating is configured to operate such that no charging is incurred to the sender when a mobile message is not delivered to an existing recipient.
18. The apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the mobile message is selected from group consisting of: a message of short messaging service; multimedia messaging service; picture messaging service; and mobile instant messaging service.
19. The apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the predetermined portion consists of a particular set of unallocated subscriber numbers or the predetermined portion is dynamically defined from among unallocated subscriber numbers.
20. The apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the simulating imitates ordinary behavior of mobile subscribers.
21. The apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the simulating is configured to operate such that no charging is incurred to the sender when a mobile message is not delivered to an existing recipient.
22. The apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the mobile message is selected from group consisting of: a message of short messaging service; multimedia messaging service; picture messaging service; and mobile instant messaging service.
23. A computer program stored in a non-transient computer readable medium, the computer program comprising computer executable program code adapted to cause an apparatus to implement:
receiving from a sender a request for routing information to send a mobile message to a recipient, the mobile message referring to a message addressed using a subscriber number of a mobile telecommunication network;
detecting whether or not the recipient is a valid subscriber of the mobile communication network and:
if the recipient is not a valid subscriber of the mobile communication network, then:
simulating to the sender that the recipient is indeed a valid subscriber in order to provoke the sender to send the mobile message; and
identifying the mobile message as a suspected spam message;
if the recipient is a valid subscriber of the mobile communication network then:
proceeding to deliver a normal response to the request to deliver the routing information.