The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has directed TeleSign Corporation (TeleSign) to comply with phone scam rules after finding the telco breached information sharing and reporting obligations.
Under the Reducing Scam Calls and Scam SMs Industry Code, telcos are required to share information about scam traffic with other telcos and government agencies, and to report blocked scams to the ACMA. These rules are critical to enabling early identification and disruption of scams.
TeleSign failed to share information about more than 11,000 alleged SMS scam messages it carried between November 2023 and July 2024. Many of these scams posed serious risks to Australians as they impersonated government agencies or financial institutions.
The ACMA also found that TeleSign failed to report to the ACMA the number of scam calls and messages it blocked from July 2022 to June 2024.
Telcos may face penalties of up to $250,000 for breaching a direction to comply with an industry code.
Consumers should contact their telco and financial institution immediately if they think they have been a victim of a phone scam.
Help other Australians by reporting scams to Scamwatch. Reporting scams and talking about them not only helps to understand what happened but also informs authorities about scam activities so that they can make it harder for scams to occur.
Information about how to identify phone scams, and protect you and your friends and family, is available here: Phone and SMS scams | ACMA
The ACMA supports the government's Fighting Scams initiative to address scams and online fraud and protect Australians from financial harm. We also contribute to the work of the National Anti-Scam Centre, which coordinates government, law enforcement and the private sector to combat scams.
