Tag: phone numbers

Enabling International calls and texting

Through aNinja you can call and text US phone numbers, by default.

However, if you want to reach out to phone numbers outside of the US, we can enable international calls and texting. Just reach out to support@aninja.com.

International SMS Messaging & Dialing Geographic Permissions (Geo Permissions)

You number is set by default to only allow calls and texts inside the US. To send SMS messages to new countries, we need to modify your permissions. And that’s through Geo Permissions.

It’s a tool to configure the list of countries to which your number allows calling and sending messages to.

Please keep in mind that each country has its own individual regulations. And they may apply based on sender type, use case, or may require additional registration.

Messaging Geo Permissions

Messaging Geographic Permissions generally work based on the country code of the destination phone number.

Recently, fraud in the SMS ecosystem has risen. As a line of defense against fraudulent activity, our carrier recommends disabling destination countries your business doesn’t use.

Messages Blocked by Geo Permissions

You receive Error 21408 when you are trying to send SMS to a region that has not been enabled in your account’s Messaging Geo Permissions settings.

Dialing Geo Permissions

The Carrier has segmented phone numbers for each of the countries they can reach into two buckets:

  • One group of numbers with low fraud risk, which you have access to the right out of the box.
  • And another group that has higher risk for fraud, are enabled in the same way, but require upgraded accounts to access.

Calls Blocked by Geo Permissions

Outbound calls that are blocked by Geo Permissions will be flagged by one of the following notifications:

  • 21215
  • 32205
  • 13227

So, let us know the countries you want to enable by sending us an email to support@aninja.com.

Toll-Free numbers verification

Toll-Free numbers verification is currently required in the US and Canada for best delivery. And users who don’t verify, risk being blocked or increasing filtering and daily limits on sending traffic.

Overview

All major carriers in the United States and in Canada designate Toll-Free numbers for business messaging use.

Recently, carriers have implemented daily sending limits for unverified toll-free numbers.

As a result, any traffic that exceeds the daily limit or gets filtered for spam will receive an Error 30032 response.

Although carrier filtering is still possible for messages sent from Toll-Free phone numbers; you can significantly reduce the likelihood of filtering if you comply with all rules and regulations, and follow best practices.

Carriers highly recommend verification for all numbers, regardless of volume.

Why verify Toll-Free numbers

Carriers require Toll-Free Messaging Verification as it reduces filtering risk on compliant traffic.

Lately, the enforcement for the 10/1/2022 deadline has changed from failing all Restricted Toll-Free traffic to failing traffic that exceed 2000 messages per day per number.

And, beginning April 1, 2023, these limits will drop to 500 daily / 1,000 weekly / 2,000 monthly. However, Pending Verification status will allow for higher volume limits (2,000 daily / 6,000 weekly / 10,000 monthly); and reduce the chance of filtering while waiting for final carrier approval.

So, Toll-Free Verification reduces the risk of filtering on your message traffic; assuming it is compliant with all applicable rules. Please keep in mind that the Toll-Free traffic verification process can take approximately 2-3 weeks for completion.

Required Information for Toll-Free Verification

  • Customer ID field from end-user

  • Business Name – text field

  • Corporate Website

  • Business Address (include street, city, state, and zip code)

  • Business Compliance Contact (first and last name, email address, phone number)

  • Expected Message Volume

  • Phone number(s) to be verified

  • Use Case Category

  • Description of the Use Case / Summary

  • Production (Sample) Message Content

  • Opt-in Workflow Description (Text – online, text to join, point of sale, etc.)

  • Opt-in Image URLs (URLs separated by semicolon)

  • Additional Supporting Details

  • ISV / Reseller (Highly Recommended)

Kindly forward the above information to support@aninja.com so that we can proceed with submitting the verification request on your behalf. Please note that the processing time for the the Toll-Free numbers verification may take approximately 2-3 weeks.

 

Enabling 2FA or OTP on your aNinja number

2FA or OTP on your aNinja number:

Enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) or One-Time Password (OTP) for your online accounts (such as Gmail), is a vital step to protect your sensitive information from Cyber attacks. However, you might face hurdle when enabling it on your aNinja number.

What is 2FA or OTP

Firstly, let’s understand what 2FA and OTP mean.

2FA is a security feature that requires users to provide two forms of identification before gaining access to their online accounts.

Typically, this involves entering a password and a unique code generated by an authentication app or received via SMS.

OTP is a one-time code that is sent to your registered mobile number or email address; which you need to enter along with your password to log in to your account.

Enabling 2FA or OTP on your aNinja number

OTP codes come from short codes. And many services that send with short codes only support sending SMS to standard mobile numbers.

aNinja phone numbers are all VoIP numbers, and are not considered as standard mobile numbers. Therefore, they cannot receive messages from many short codes.

What to do

The simplest solution is to use a different phone number, such as a personal mobile number, to receive the verification code. This way, you can still enable 2FA or OTP for your online accounts.

Another solution is to use a third-party authentication app, such as Google Authenticator or Authy, which generates a unique code that you can enter along with your password to log in to your accounts.

These apps do not rely on SMS or phone numbers. And, therefore, you can use them instead of your aNinja number for the two factor authentication.

It is always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to online security, so take the necessary steps to protect your online accounts today.

Updating Templates and Signatures in in-queue messages

Updating templates and signatures in in-queue messages ensures that the messages being sent to customers are up-to-date.

Outdated templates and signatures can lead to confusion and inaccuracies.

Overview

To launch bulk text sequences, you want to start by creating templates and sequences. Then you set the launching date.

Once a text sequence is created, the system retrieves

  • the corresponding template(s),
  • the phone number used to initiate the sequence,
  • and the lead info available at the time of creation.

Modifications made to the template(s) or the signature of the phone number used to launch this text sequence can be reflected in the sequence, post-launching.

However, any changes made to the lead info are not currently being updated in the queued-up texts.

How to include template updates in the sequence

When editing a template’s content, you can choose to update all in-queue texts that are using this template.

  • Go to Settings > Automations > Text or Email Templates

  • Click on the pencil next to the template to go to the edit view

  • Make your changes.
  • And click Save.
  • Afterward, go back to the edit view once again to click on Update in-queue texts or emails.
  • Otherwise, the template’s updates will be saved but changes will not reflected in in-queue texts and emails.
  • In case there are no messages in queue using this template, the update in-queue button is disabled.

Note: The update might take several minutes depending on the size of the in-queue messages.

How to include Signature updates in the sequence

Update Text signatures in-queue

When editing a signature saved in a phone number, you can choose to update all in-queue text templates that were sent from this number.

  • Go to Settings > Phone Numbers
  • Click on the pencil next to the phone number to go to the edit view

  • Type in the new signature,
  • And click Update.
  • Then, you should go back to the edit view once again to click on Update in-queue texts.
  • Otherwise, the signature updates will be saved but changes will not reflected in the in-queue texts.
  • You can also see the number of in-queue texts that are using this phone number.
  • In case there are no messages in queue using this template, the update in-queue button is disabled.

Note: The update might take several minutes depending on the size of the in-queue texts

Update Email Signatures in-queue

When editing a signature saved in a email account, you can choose to update all in-queue email templates that were sent from this email account.

  • Go to Settings > Email Accounts
  • Click on the pencil next to the email to go to the edit view

  • Type in the new signature,
  • And click Update.
  • Then, you should go back to the edit view once again to click on Update in-queue emails.
  • Otherwise, the signature updates will be saved but changes will not reflected in the in-queue emails.
  • You can also see the number of in-queue emails that are using this email account.

Note: The update might take several minutes depending on the size of the in-queue texts

Blocking a lead phone number

If you want to stop receiving calls from a lead, you can block their phone number in aNinja.

You can also block callers for solicitation and register your phone number in the National Do Not Call Registry.

In this article, we show you how to block a lead phone number in aNinja.

Blocking a lead phone number in aNinja

The lead phone numbers are located in the lead view, in the contacts section.

Click on the block icon next to the phone number you want to block. Then the block icon turns red.

To unblock a phone number, just click on the block icon to turn it back to black.

If the lead has multiple phone numbers, you might want to block them all.

Accessing the list of blocked phone numbers

In this view, you can:

  • Block and unblock a phone number
  • Filter the view by User
  • See all the phone numbers marked as “Blocked”
  • See the Date they were marked
  • And, the User who marked them

Blocking a phone number

To block a phone number, just type it in the box and click on Block.

Then the number is added to the list of all the blocked phone numbers and the block icon in the lead view turns to red.

Afterward, the lead calls are immediately hung up. You will be notified on the mobile app and in the Inbox.

Unblocking a phone number

To unblock a phone number, locate it in the list and click on the unblock button.

This automatically unblocks the phone number and turns the block icon in the lead view back to black.

Filtering the results

You can filter the results to appear by user if you are a user with Admin access.

Otherwise, the users can only see the phone numbers blocked by them.

Blocking callers for solicitation

An advertisement over the telephone is known as a telephone solicitation. The National Do Not Call Registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls or block callers for solicitation.

Overview of the National Do Not Call Registry

Companies can call you if you’ve recently done business with them, or if you’ve given them written permission to call. But if you ask them not to call you, they have to stop. Be sure to write down the date you asked them to stop.

The National Do Not Call Registry was created to stop unwanted sales calls. It’s free to register your home or cell phone number.

The Registry is a list that tells telemarketers what numbers not to call.

Read about blocking unwanted calls to find out what to do about them. If you answer one of these calls, hang up and report the call to the FTC.

Blocking callers for solicitation

  • In aNinja, you can block a phone number and forbid it from calling you.
  • To block the solicitation callers, you can register your home or mobile phone for free.
  • Registrations on the National Do Not Call Registry do not expire. So, if you have previously registered your number, there is no need to register again.
  • After you register, other types of organizations may still call you, such as charities, political groups, debt collectors, and surveys. To learn more, read the FAQs.
  • If you’ve already added your phone number to the Do Not Call Registry and are still getting a lot of unwanted calls, odds are the calls are from scammers.
  • If you received an unwanted call after your number was on the National Registry for 31 days, report it to the FTC.

Additional links:

Text/SMS Signature

When sending a text/SMS via aNinja, you would want to include a text signature at the bottom.

What’s a text signature

It is a powerful way to convey your professionalism to your readers and give them the information they need to contact you. It is placed at the bottom of each text, which helps leave a great impression and makes you stand out from your peers.

You want to consider the size/segmentation of the text when you include a text signature to avoid being overcharged.

Setting your text/SMS signature in aNinja

  • Login to your aNinja account.
  • Go to Settings > Phone Numbers

  • Click on the edit pen

text signature

  • Type in your signature

text signature

  • And hit Update
  • Now your signature will show at the bottom of each text you send via aNinja.

This signature is sent in bulk texts as well. At the time you create your text sequence, the system grabs the lead info, templates that yo’ve included in the sequence, and the phone number assigned to launch this sequence.

However, if you change the signature after the sequence was launched, the system updates the in-queue steps.

Keeping a clean database

Bad data infiltrates every database in form of duplicate contacts, un-standardized lead data, and junk records. While you can’t always keep bad data from coming in, you can clean it up when it’s there.

In order to keep a clean database, you can sanitize your contact file before you import it, and perform a clean-up routine to the existing data.

Importing a correct data

Before you import contacts in a CSV/Excel file, check the following tips:

  • Provide correct email addresses to ensure the deliverability of your emails.
  • Provide correct phone numbers to ensure the deliverability of your texts and campaigns.
  • If possible, assign the mobile number to the primary phone number.
  • Ensure the uniformity of custom fields: don’t create multiple custom fields for identical data. This will lead to confusion over the correct custom field to keep updated, and over the Smartlists results.
    • e.g. on a first data import, custom field “Source”; on a second data import, custom field “Created through”, on a third “Origin”, on a fourth “From”. This creates 4 custom fields for one identical data.
  • Set the Global Setting rule: Do not add new Leads via API if Lead with similar email already exists (avoids duplicates)

Cleaning up the existing data

However, the bad data can still be cleaned up when it’s already there.

  • Remove duplicates
    • Go to Settings > Data Clean up
    • Choose the merging method (by email or by phone)
    • Repeat this task every now and then, depending on the volume of the incoming leads.
  • Prune inactive and junk contacts
    • Contacts with no emails and/or phone numbers are of no use in your database.
    • Leads who asked to stop receiving from you can crowd your database and preferably be deleted.

Keeping a clean database reserves more space for the correct data.

Reach us at support@aninja.com to assist you in merging duplicates.

Things to consider before Bulk Texting

Bulk texting is an aNinja great tool that you use to nurture your leads and keep them updated with your latest campaigns, and offers, and send them reminders. Here are a few things to consider before bulk texting.

Things to consider before bulk texting

Here are a few things you would want to consider/check before sending out your text blast.

  • Phone number to send out the texts

To be able to send texts, you want to have a phone number saved in your aNinja account. Either you buy a new phone number from aNinja or you port your own.

  • Leads phone numbers

If possible, provide a mobile number in the lead’s primary contact to ensure delivery of your message.

  • Text segmentation

When preparing a text template, you want to count the characters you’re adding to this text. A text is composed of 160 characters which is considered one segment. If your text exceeds 160 characters, it will be delivered to the recipients anyhow, but you will be overcharged for all extra segments by your phone carrier.

SMS and MMS are encoded by the carriers in different formats to represent the characters and special characters used in the message.

The default encoding method is GSM-7, which consumes fewer segments, making it more cost-effective.

However, if the text content includes special characters like emojis or backticks, a different encoding method called UCS-2 is used; it consumes more segments, approximately double the amount of GSM-7.

  • Text limit per bulk/per user

According to your Billing plan (only for Advanced and Pro plans), each user can send 2000 SMS per bulk.

If you wish to increase your SMS limit, either:

1- Reach support at support@aninja.com and they will bump it up for you, with a one-time charge of 15$ for every additional 1000 SMS per user.

2- Or, enable the auto-recharge for Billing, that automatically recharges your add-ons once your plan included add-ons are hit.

Otherwise, limit your bulk texts to 2000 SMS per bulk by segmenting the contacts in the CSV file before you import it.

SPAM risk caller ID

SPAM risk caller ID

Your customers might see calls from your number displayed as “SPAM likely” or “SPAM risk” or “SCAM likely” on their caller ID. While each phone carrier keeps a list of numbers they determine to be spam risks based on the history of the number; scam ID technologies might incorrectly mark your number.

What causes the SCAM/SPAM designation

Here are the most obvious reasons for designation:

  1. The volume of Outbound Calls Per Day Per Number
  2. Or, someone flagged a call from your number in that carrier’s app as spam
  3. Or, it could be your system didn’t correctly set the Outbound Caller ID number

What’s the back story

In response to the growing number of scam calls to mobile phones; many carriers have created tools to identify and block scam calls. Unfortunately, these tools aren’t perfect. And sometimes businesses may have their numbers incorrectly marked by scam ID technology, particularly when calling cell numbers.

Each carrier has a feature or app. And it is automatically enabled on mobile devices. So, when someone calls one of these devices, the carrier checks the number against its database of reported scam numbers. If the source matches a reported scam number, directly, the person being called sees a message that says “Scam Likely” alongside standard caller ID. 

However, the Scam Likely Caller ID features will sometimes mark legitimate calls incorrectly; because some people may report your number without answering the phone. If this happens enough, as a result, your number will be marked Scam Likely.

To reduce the chances that a scam ID flag your number, you want to register your number at Free Caller Registry.

Registering your number at Free Caller Registry

You can register your number at Free Caller Registry by following these links:

https://www.freecallerregistry.com/fcr/

This helps register/white-list your numbers with the major carriers. It also reduces the chances of them being flagged. Moreover, all numbers and information provided will be shared with all Carrier Spam Monitoring Partners.

Request to remove your number from the SPAM/SCAM designation

You can use the links or email addresses below to register legitimate numbers and also address any incorrect labeling or call blocking with other carriers:

AT&T:

https://hiyahelp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=824667

Sprint, Verizon, U.S. Cellular:

https://reportarobocall.com

Comcast, Charter, Cox, Altice, and other fixed line (VoIP) providers, email Nomorobo for call blocking services:

reports@nomorobo.com