Steps Taken by ACMA to Eradicate Telephone Fraud

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has announced a consultation on new regulatory arrangements for the use of SMS sender IDs, aiming to restore trust in SMS as a safe communications channel and combat scams.

The consultation follows the announcement of the new Telecommunications Numbering Plan and is part of the government's Fighting Scams initiative, which was launched in late 2024. The authority responsible for the verification of SMS sender IDs and the implementation of the mandatory registry for SMS sender IDs has yet to be explicitly named in the provided search results.

Under the proposed regulations, telcos will be required to confirm that messages sent using text-based sender IDs are from a registered sender ID. SMS sent using unregistered sender IDs will be over-stamped with the warning 'Likely SCAM'. The ACMA aims to protect the use of SMS sender IDs to restore consumer confidence in the legitimacy of brands identified in SMS messages.

The draft Telecommunications (SMS Sender ID Register) Industry Standard 2025 outlines proposed rules to disrupt SMS scams impersonating well-known brands and government agencies. The SMS sender ID register is scheduled to commence by December 15, 2025.

The ACMA has previously registered the Reducing Scam Calls and Scam SMS Code, under which telcos have reported blocking over 2.3 billion scam calls and over 857.4 million scam SMS from December 2020 to December 31, 2024.

Submissions for the consultation close on April 28, 2025. The consultation package for the new regulatory arrangements is available online. The ACMA is also exploring the feasibility of various innovative scam reduction initiatives for the telco sector.

By implementing these new regulations, the ACMA hopes to restore trust in SMS as a safe and reliable communication channel, helping to protect consumers from scams and fraudulent activities.