How much does Twitter claim to lose annually due to SMS 2FA abuse?

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Twitter Claims Annual Loss of US$60 Million from SMS 2FA Abuse

Twitter asserts that it incurs an annual loss of US$60 million (approximately RM265.92 million) as a direct consequence of malicious actors exploiting its two-factor authentication (2FA) system via SMS. This financial impact is cited as a primary driver for the platform's decision to restrict SMS-based 2FA to paid subscribers.
Financial Impact of SMS 2FA Abuse

The company has stated that "bad actors" are abusing phone-number-based 2FA, leading to significant financial losses. This abuse is reportedly costing Twitter US$60 million each year, a figure explicitly mentioned by Elon Musk in relation to the policy change. The platform believes this method of securing accounts is being exploited, necessitating a revision in its security protocols.
Shift to Paid Subscription for SMS 2FA

In response to the perceived abuse and associated financial drain, Twitter announced that starting March 20, only users subscribed to Twitter Blue will be able to utilise text messages for their 2FA. This move effectively limits a previously free security feature to a paid service, aiming to curb the exploitation that leads to the reported annual losses.
Rationale for Policy Change

The decision to restrict SMS 2FA is directly linked to the financial losses incurred. While the company's tweet and a linked blog post detail the change, Elon Musk's reply to a user suggested that telecommunication companies (telcos) were allegedly using bot accounts to inflate 2FA SMS usage, contributing to the substantial annual expenditure. This points to a perceived systemic issue driving the platform's policy revision.

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How much does Twitter claim to lose annually due to SMS 2FA abuse?

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