How scammers abuse the email-to-SMS gateway system?

Scammers quickly discovered that these email-to-SMS gateways can be misused. Instead of sending normal emails, they: Send thousands of automated messages to random phone numbers.
Use fake or unrelated email sender addresses.
Push spam directly into SMS inboxes, bypassing email spam filters.
This is why messages may look like they are coming from strange addresses such as: [+14699370180@tmomail.net](mailto:+14699370180@tmomail.net), random or suspicious or malformed email domain and spoofed business or personal names.
The key problem is that SMS feels more “trusted” than email. People are more likely to open a text message, which makes this method attractive to scammers.

What is email spoofing and how does it enable this scam?

Email spoofing is when the attacker forges the visible “From” address. Modern defences, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, exist to verify senders, but not all domains enforce them correctly, and spoofing remains possible where authentication or alignment is missing.

Another trick used in these attacks is email spoofing. Email Spoofing means is when the scammer forges the “From” address you see, while the real sender is hidden behind the scenes, moreover the message looks like it came from a different person or company. This happens because older internet email systems were designed without strong identity verification.
So even if you see something like: [support@company.com](mailto:support@company.com) or a random domain name, it does not always mean that is the real sender. Modern protections like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC exist, but not all domains enforce them.

What are “Ping” or “Live Number” tests and how does it work?

A growing tactic used in Africa and globally is something called a live number test, also known as a “ping test.”
This is how it works:  Scammers send out random or meaningless messages.
They do not care about the content (it may be random words, nonsensical sentences or AI-generated slop).
They wait to see who responds. If you reply, even just “Who is this?” you confirm that your number is active, a real person is reading messages and you may be targeted again or sold to other spam networks. This is why the message content often looks strange, emotional, or nonsensical. It is not meant to make sense. It is designed to trigger a reaction.

Why this is appearing in South Africa now?

South Africa is increasingly connected to global telecom and messaging systems. That means that international spam systems can reach local numbers as SMS remains widely used for communication.
Users may not always recognise foreign gateway formats like tmomail.net. This creates a gap that scammers exploit quickly when new routes appear.

What you should do if you receive spam email-to-SMS messages?

Do NOT reply.
Do NOT click links (if any appear).
Block the sender immediately.
Delete the message.
Report it if your mobile provider offers reporting tools.

Most importantly, treat strange or emotional messages as suspicious, even if they look personal.

Email-to-SMS gateways were created to make communication easier, but they also created a new attack surface for scammers. Combined with spoofing and “live number” testing, these systems are now being used to filter active phone numbers and spread spam more effectively. Awareness is the strongest defence and once you understand that these messages are automated tests, not real conversations, they lose their power to confuse or mislead.

Stop, pause evaluate.