The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has revealed that Telcos blocked 55 million scam calls to Australian phone numbers since new rules which required them to detect, trace and block scam calls were introduced in December last year.
Chair of the Scam Action Taskforce at ACMA, Fiona Cameron said the Reducing Scam Calls Code was developed by the telco industry in response to ACMA’s Combating Scams Action Plan.
Ms Cameron said that of the 55 million calls blocked 44 million calls used spoofed or made-up numbers and nearly 11 million were ‘Wangiri’ scam calls, where scammers rung once from an international number which resulted in high premium phone charges for those who called back.
“Each scam call blocked is one less potential victim and a step towards rebuilding confidence for Australians that it’s safe to answer a ringing phone,” Ms Cameron said.
“I am pleased to see the Code having a real impact in its initial months, particularly in busting the ‘one ring’ Wangiri and Calling Line ID spoofing scams,” she said.
“However, this isn’t a silver bullet.”
Ms Cameron said scammers were becoming increasingly sophisticated so, it was important for Telcos to stay vigilant and “keep up the fight”.
She said ACMA expected to see the number of blocked scam calls increase as Telcos enhanced their technology and capability to protect their customers.
“Consumers also play their part in stopping scammers; if something sounds too good to be true, it’s probably a scam,” she said.
“If someone you’ve never heard from is asking for your personal details, it’s probably a scam.”
Ms Cameron said the best thing people could do to protect themselves from scam calls was to hang up the phone.
