Australia and Singapore are to unite in the fight together against unsolicited telemarketing, spam and scams following the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) entering an agreement with Singapore’s Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) for that purpose.
According to the two Agencies, their new strategic agreement will promote further engagement and information-sharing between them and assist with investigations and compliance with the laws in both countries.
Research conducted by ACMA in 2021 found that 98 per cent of Australians received some form of unsolicited communication with scam calls, the most prevalent type of unwanted communication, and four in 10 Australians were receiving them at least once a week.
Chair of ACMA, Nerida O’Loughlin said she was pleased to further strengthen the Authority’s strong working relationship with IMDA.
“Almost every Australian is impacted by unwanted calls, SMS and emails, and we know that many of our international colleagues are dealing with the same issues” Ms O’Loughlin said.
“This agreement will see us building stronger ties with our Singaporean counterparts to crack down on unsolicited calls and messages, particularly when cross-border issues are involved.”
Chief Executive of IMDA, Lew Chuen Hong said the burgeoning digital economy sees growing international cooperation between regulators.
“This Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) developed in connection with the Australia-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement, is an important step to address global issues that do not respect geographical boundaries for e.g., harms perpetrated by scams,” Mr Lew said
“The MOU forms the foundation for broadening collaboration, in the overall telecommunication and digital space, to ensure that it remains a trusted domain,” he said.
According to ACMA the MOU follows similar agreements it has made with its regulatory counterparts in the USA, Canada and New Zealand.
Ms O’Loughlin said that anyone who thinks they’ve been scammed should contact their bank and phone company immediately and report it to Scamwatch.
Scamwatch can be accessed at this PS News link.
