Dating Site Swipes Left on SMS Toll Fraud and Account Takeover with Arkose Labs

$250K—that's how much a major online dating site is saving each month in fraudulent SMS charges. Learn how they did it when you read the case study!

What You’ll Learn

• How a global dating platform confronted massive SMS toll fraud and account takeover attacks How fraudsters exploited OTP flows and stolen credentials to inflate SMS costs, drain operational budgets, and target users with malicious outreach.
• Why traditional downstream detection wasn’t enough to stop fake or compromised accounts How fraud was being identified too late in the process, allowing fake accounts, phishing attempts, and stolen-credential logins to proliferate.
• How Arkose Bot Manager disrupted both automated and human-driven attack patterns How behavioral analytics, challenge-based validation, and risk-tiering allowed the platform to safely introduce friction only where needed.
• How risk-based SMS protection reduced high-cost OTP abuse without hurting good users How tailoring enforcement by country and risk profile cut abuse in high-risk regions while keeping medium- and low-risk users friction-free.
• How early-stage mitigation strengthened trust, reduced costs, and improved user experience How preventing fraudulent accounts at login and registration safeguarded users, reduced expenses, and restored confidence in the platform.

FAQ

Why was SMS toll fraud such a major issue for the dating site?

Because attackers used fake accounts and compromised profiles to trigger OTP flows in high-risk geographies, generating fraudulent SMS charges. These costs represented one of the company’s largest operational expenses and were rising sharply each month.

How did Arkose Labs help stop account takeovers and SMS fraud?

Arkose Bot Manager monitored login behavior, analyzed device and interaction patterns, and applied targeted challenges only to suspicious traffic. This prevented bots and fraud farms from completing registrations, triggering OTP messages, or accessing compromised accounts. The risk-tiered SMS strategy further reduced abusive traffic without adding friction for legitimate users.

What business impact did the platform see after deploying Arkose Labs?

The company drastically reduced one of its largest cost centers by eliminating fraudulent SMS traffic. It also stopped credential-based ATO attempts, improved user safety, and preserved the fast, seamless sign-up and login experience the platform is known for—strengthening both trust and operational efficiency.