The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has announced new moves to combat the torrent of international scam callers contacting Australian consumers.
The Scam Technology Project, led by ACMA with representation from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Australian Cyber Security Centre, is to explore ways to disrupt scam activity on telco networks.
Chair of the Scam Technology Project Reference Group, Fiona Cameron said the project represented a show of unity from Australian Government Agencies to minimise the scammer scourge.
“Scam activity is highly organised, increasingly sophisticated and undermines consumer confidence in communications services,” Ms Cameron said.
“This project will investigate what can be done to disrupt scam communications activity, including possible consumer or network-based solutions like call blocking and network traffic authentication protocols.”
She said recent ACMA research found that more than half of adults had received scam calls daily or weekly with seven out of 10 saying they didn’t believe enough was being done to protect individuals from them.
Data shared by the ACCC’s Scamwatch service showed that the number of scams being reported, and the amount of money lost to scams, was increasing.
Ms Cameron said it was important for Government and industry to respond to consumer concerns and implement a strong plan.
“Industry, especially telco service providers, has an important role to play as it is responsible for the delivery of frontline consumer safeguards,” she said.
“We need to be better informed and armed to slow down the scammer tide. We also need to be aware that scammers listen and learn, and adapt their behaviour to suit the environment.”
ACMA is to release a discussion paper in the coming weeks.
Minister for Communications and the Arts, Senator Mitch Fifield said he had asked ACMA to identify practical solutions for addressing the consumer harms caused by international scam callers.
“Australians are sick of scam calls,” Senator Fifield said.
