Earlier this month, Proximus began using a new platform to better protect its customers from “smishing,” a form of phishing via SMS.

Proximus officially launched the new platform on October 4th after an extensive testing phase. The first results are already promising: in the first two weeks since its launch, no fewer than 3.2 million suspicious messages were blocked, an average of 229,000 per day.

From now on, the platform is expected to be able to nip most smishing attempts in the bud. A similar initiative in the UK resulted in a 90 percent reduction in smishing complaints.

For example, the platform recognizes patterns in which a number sends a noticeable number of messages or suspicious links are circulating. Thanks to artificial intelligence, the algorithm can then be further trained to recognize phishing messages even better in the future.

The project was realized thanks to the collaboration and support of the government. Proximus covered half of the investment for development, implementation and operation. In addition, at the suggestion of Minister De Sutter and within the framework of the national economic recovery plan, it was able to access public funding.