What is a fake DLR in SMS messaging?

A fake DLR is a delivery report that marks an SMS as delivered even though the message never reached the recipient’s handset. 

Some suppliers cut corners and generate these receipts on purpose to inflate their delivery rates. Others unknowingly pass them on from rogue routes further down the chain.

This creates a discrepancy between your metrics and reality: Your dashboard shows a healthy delivery rate while OTP codes, alerts and reminders vanish into thin air. 

Fake DLRs usually come down to money. Wholesale suppliers are often measured on reported delivery rates, so returning an instant DELIVERED status without waiting for the handset to confirm can make a flimsy route look solid. It is also a way to underbid other suppliers by offering af price below cost price.

The problem is also common on grey routes, where traffic is pushed through unofficial paths such as SIM farms or unauthorized interconnects. 

Fake DLRs can as well appear on only a fraction of the traffic on an otherwise legitimate route.

 

The most reliable way to spot fake DLRs is to send test messages to real SIM cards in the destination country and compare what arrives with what the delivery report says. If the report says delivered and the phone shows nothing, you have strong evidence.

You can also detect fake DLRs in your own data. Watch for these patterns:

• Delivery reports arriving within a second or two of submission, every time.
• Delivery rates close to 100% in markets known for patchy coverage.
• Users reporting missing OTP codes while your logs show DELIVERED.
• An increase in users that request a resend of OTPs. 
• Sudden dip in OTP verification rates alongside high delivery rates.
• Clicks on SMS links dropping without any change in delivery rate.
• Drop in conversion rates compared to your base line.

Lastly, the price itself can be a giveaway. If you receive an offer that is vastly below the industry price, it is often an indication that something is amiss.

GatewayAPI passes on delivery reports that originate from the mobile carriers, so DELIVERED means the handset has confirmed the message. We monitor every route we use and act fast if something looks off.

Where we have a direct operator connection, traffic goes straight to the carrier. Everywhere else, it runs over premium routes through carefully selected, trusted partners – never over low-cost grey routes where fake delivery reports are more common.

Every status change reaches your backend through webhooks with detailed error codes, so you can see exactly why a message ended as UNDELIVERABLE, REJECTED or EXPIRED. Our delivery status guide explains each status.

If the numbers for some reason look off, you can always send a few message IDs to our support team. Our technical experts will look into the specific messages and give you a clear answer.