SMS scams, telco price hikes in regulator ACMA’s sights

Australia’s communications regulator ACMA has revealed its compliance priorities for the next year.

Australian Communication and Media Authority chair Nerida Loughlin: ‘With many Australian families facing cost of living pressures it is particularly important for telcos to do more to support their most vulnerable customers.’ Picture: John Feder

Combating SMS scams and protecting telco customers experiencing financial hardship and domestic and family violence have been revealed as the top compliance priorities for Australia’s communications watchdog for the next 12 months, amid a rise in scams and cost of living pressures.

The chair of Australia’s communications and media authority (ACMA) Nerida O’Loughlin on Thursday outlined her regulator’s list of priorities for the next year, declaring ACMA would prioritise addressing scams due to the significant detrimental impact they have on people’s financial and social wellbeing.

“These scams are run by sophisticated international criminal networks. Over the next 12 months the ACMA will work with government and industry to further reduce the risk of harm caused by scams by targeting them at their source, before they hit people’s phones,” Ms O’Loughlin said.

“With many Australian families facing cost of living pressures it is particularly important for telcos to do more to support their most vulnerable customers.

“Telecommunications is clearly an essential service, with Australians relying on connectivity to access work, education, health, government services and more. Without reliable phone and internet it is incredibly challenging for people to fully participate in today’s society.”

Telstra last month lifted the prices of its postpaid mobile plans by 7 per cent – approximately $4 a month – in line with inflation but slightly above analyst expectations, after it announced prepaid customers would be hit by a 20 per cent price rise from July.

Optus meanwhile this month notified customers that their plans would rise by between $4 and $5 on average.

Ms O’Loughlin said ACMA’s registration and enforcement of telco industry codes has seen more than 360 million scam calls and around 172 million scam messages blocked since July 2022.

“This means that since new rules were introduced in December 2020, more than 1.15 billion scam calls have been blocked from reaching Australians,” she said.

ACMA is currently exploring the implementation of an SMS sender ID register that would block cyber criminals from sending texts appearing to be from agencies such as the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), myGov and Australia Post.

Australians self-reported losses of over half a billion dollars in 2022, with one third of all scams reported to Scamwatch coming via text message.

The full list of 2023-24 ACMA compliance priorities is:

• Protecting telco customers experiencing financial hardship, in particular monitoring industry direct debit and responsible selling practices.

• Supporting telco customers experiencing domestic and family violence and taking action against telcos that don’t follow industry rules.

• Tackling the online supply of dodgy devices with a focus on supplier compliance with equipment rules, and working with online platforms to proactively remove ads for non-compliant devices.

• Ensuring 5G mmWave EME compliance by extending our measurement program to mmWave technologies and EME in buildings.

• Maintaining Low Power Open Narrowcasting (LPON) licensing integrity through compliance audits.

• Minimising gambling harm by taking action against illegal offshore wagering providers targeting Australians, with a particular focus on the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

• Enforcing e-marketing unsubscribe rules by focusing on businesses that don’t action opt-out requests, concentrating on areas that may cause significant harm like gambling, alcohol and ‘buy now, pay later’ products and services.

• Combating SMS scams to prevent them reaching Australians by enforcing existing rules and exploring new ways to stop scam messages that impersonate legitimate brands.