{
  "id": "OPS-078",
  "slug": "ops-078",
  "title": "HELP is answered whoever asks",
  "statement": "A HELP request must always produce a response, whether or not the sender is currently subscribed and whether or not the programme is a subscription.",
  "rationale": "The people most in need of a HELP response are the ones who are not subscribers: somebody who received a message meant for a previous holder of their number, or who cannot tell what the programme is. A handler that only answers known subscribers leaves exactly those people with silence and a number they cannot identify, which converts a fixable confusion into a carrier complaint.",
  "layer": "OPERATIONAL",
  "layerSlug": "operational",
  "object": "HELP keyword handler",
  "severity": "BLOCKING",
  "detectability": [
    "UNDETECTABLE_PRE_SUBMISSION"
  ],
  "failureClass": "TERMINAL_EXTERNAL",
  "authorities": [
    "CTIA",
    "MMA",
    "Aerialink"
  ],
  "applicabilityText": "Applies to every 10DLC registration.",
  "universal": true,
  "remediation": "Answer HELP from the number that received it, without looking the sender up first. Done when HELP sent from a number that never subscribed still returns the brand name and a support route.",
  "example": "Acme Coffee: for help, email support@acmecoffee.com or call 415-555-0134. Reply STOP to unsubscribe.",
  "notes": "Absorbs OPS-082, the same duty stated for customer-care requests generally. Not observable before traffic. What the user has to test is the unsubscribed case: send HELP from a number that is not on the list and confirm a reply comes back.",
  "catalogIds": [
    "OPS-082"
  ],
  "phase": "post",
  "automated": false,
  "attestation": {
    "question": "Does HELP sent from a number that never subscribed still return the brand name and a support route?",
    "howToCheck": [
      "Test the unsubscribed case: send HELP from a number that is not on the list.",
      "Confirm the handler answers from the number that received it, without looking the sender up first."
    ],
    "failureLooksLike": "The people most in need of a HELP reply are the ones who are not subscribers — someone who got a message meant for a previous holder of their number. Silence turns a fixable confusion into a carrier complaint."
  },
  "url": "https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/operational/ops-078/",
  "markdown": "https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/operational/ops-078.md",
  "registry": "https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/",
  "updated": "2026-07-25",
  "licence": "CC BY 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}