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Ask HN: Twilio suspended account because someone sent us a fraud text

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Re: Ask HN: Twilio suspended account because someone sent us a fraud text

#21

Post by ranma4703 »

howdydoo wrote: post #11

Auto-banning an account is a violation of GDPR Article 22 https://gdpr-info.eu/art-22-gdpr/ > The data subject shall have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning him or her or similarly significantly affects him or her. Quote this and maybe it will get you escalated, but who knows? A lot of companies seem to just igno…

Paragraph 1 shall not apply if the decision: is necessary for entering into, or performance of, a contract between the data subject and a data controller; is authorised by Union or Member State law to which the controller is subject and which also lays down suitable measures to safeguard the data subject’s rights and freedoms and legitimate interests; or is based on the data subject’s explicit consent.

If you send abusive texts through Twilio, Twilio could lose it's contracts with carriers. I haven't read through the paperwork Twilio makes you sign, but I'm gonna guess the fact that this could happen is in there. Also it sounds like the account wasn't banned, it's ability to send messages was suspended. Because it was being used to send spam text messages. I'm pretty thankful Twilio has automated systems for that

Re: Ask HN: Twilio suspended account because someone sent us a fraud text

#22

Post by ChrisDutrow »

gregorymichael wrote: post #18

Hey Chris, Greg from Twilio here. I'm so sorry for the frustration, lack of communication, and high friction to get this resolved. Want to drop me an email at gb@twilio.com and we'll see if we can get it sorted out?

Ok I just e-mailed you, thanks so much

Re: Ask HN: Twilio suspended account because someone sent us a fraud text

#23

Post by ChrisDutrow »

teh_klev wrote: post #20
howdydoo wrote: post #11

Auto-banning an account is a violation of GDPR Article 22 https://gdpr-info.eu/art-22-gdpr/ > The data subject shall have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning him or her or similarly significantly affects him or her. Quote this and maybe it will get you escalated, but who knows? A lot of companies seem to just igno…

GDPR can only be enforced for citizens in the EU/EEA and (for now) the UK. I think the OP is based in the US as is Twilio.

Thats right, we're in the US

Re: Ask HN: Twilio suspended account because someone sent us a fraud text

#24

Post by jbkiv »

jrockway wrote: post #12

My thought is that for any business-critical service, you need to have bought the service from person-to-person sales channels. Many boring meetings where they walk you through a slideshow of their service even though you already have it working. Many meetings worth of negotiating a price that's 10x the off-the-shelf price. All instead of, you know, making your product. It's just the cost of doing business -- $5/user…

Makes total sense. If you buy a subscription for few dollars/month, don't expect a human being to answer your call. Google/Twillio/Sendgrid, whatever the service, all the same ticketing system and no real answer.

HN crowd looks down on sales reps. But a good sales rep will 1) understand your business 2) will look for ways to match your needs to solutions they offer 3) will be your point of contact when things go wrong.

Sales reps are human beings, treat them well, thank them for their time if you don't buy the fancy/expensive enterprise plan.They'll understand. Most reps are young college grads that are building a network for life.

You could be a solo SaaS creator and cheap because it is a side gig and your don't have the money. But still make an effort to nurture those little young reps. One day they'll make the phone call to somebody that will remove that account suspension. That will save your business.

Re: Ask HN: Twilio suspended account because someone sent us a fraud text

#25

Post by boardwaalk »

onphonenow wrote: post #17
kamray23 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems to effectively be forwarding the text messages, like an SMS mailing list. If Twilio can't deal with forwarding messages as they come in, no matter the content, it's their problem.

I'm actually very glad Twilio doesn't allow itself to be used for SMS spam. I hate SMS spam. Twilio doesn't know that these are "employees".

Maybe they should know they are employees? i.e. allow an employee to register their number and require inputting a texted code to confirm? (I don’t know if they do, not a customer.)

This does seem like a very common use case that Twilio needs to not punish.

Re: Ask HN: Twilio suspended account because someone sent us a fraud text

#26

Post by Xylakant »

onphonenow wrote: post #17
kamray23 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems to effectively be forwarding the text messages, like an SMS mailing list. If Twilio can't deal with forwarding messages as they come in, no matter the content, it's their problem.

I'm actually very glad Twilio doesn't allow itself to be used for SMS spam. I hate SMS spam. Twilio doesn't know that these are "employees".

Twilio could fairly easily verify that the phone number owner consents: when setting up the recipient number, allow for double opt in - send a verification code that must be entered somewhere.

Re: Ask HN: Twilio suspended account because someone sent us a fraud text

#29

Post by nikanj »

ChrisDutrow wrote: post #16
vorpalhex wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have set up a few twilio accounts like this where a business number blindly forwards to the business owner's personal cell, maybe some logic for business hours and holidays. If twilio wants us to start filtering spam messages for these cases, they need to give us the API/tooling. Or let us pre-register receiving numbers through an opt-in process. I understand Twilio not wanting to be an open relay but the reported…

Yes or they could have just blocked the messaged before it hit my system. They are the ones that originally allowed the message to get to me. Then when I process it, they suspend my account.

Rules for thee, not for me

Re: Ask HN: Twilio suspended account because someone sent us a fraud text

#30

Post by marcosdumay »

> I should be considering bearing in mind that it would be expensive to re-write the software to work with another vendor

Well, maybe next time you get somebody that implements a standard.

With that kind of behavior (not letting you speak to anybody, the blocking is understandable), it's clear you shouldn't keep their services. So, you have now an opportunity to do it right, and make the next move cheaper.

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