The new SMS Sender ID Register legislation, which passed Parliament on 22 August, will help disrupt scammers and reduce the number of Australians being ripped off.

The SMS Sender ID Register will protect consumers and businesses by cracking down on scammers trying to impersonate well-known Australian brands such as banks, government agencies and retailers.

Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP, emphasised the Government’s commitment to tackling these issues: “Cracking down on criminals trying to rip off hardworking Australians is a priority for the Albanese Government.”

“I welcome the passage of the enabling legislation to allow the Australian Communications and Media Authority to establish the SMS Sender ID Register, which is an important tool in the fight against these highly organised criminals.”

Nearly half of all Australians received a scam via text message in the past 12 months alone.

To be run by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), the Register requires telcos to check whether messages being sent under a brand name correspond with the legitimate registered sender, and either block or include a warning if they don’t match.

The Register aims to decrease the frequency and impact of SMS impersonation scams on consumers, enhance protections for legitimate brands and agencies, disrupt the business models of scammers, restore public confidence in SMS as a communication channel, and make Australia a much harder target for scam activity.

Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, the Hon Stephen Jones MP, highlighted the broader impact of this initiative, stating, “Cutting off the avenues scammers use to contact their victims is part of our coordinated approach to keep people’s money safe.”

“Scam text messages bombard Australians 24/7 and the Register will start to shut down this access point. The Government’s crackdown on scams is already showing signs of success, with scam losses falling for the first time since 2016.”

In April 2023, the Government announced the establishment of the Register as part of a broader suite of initiatives aimed at combating scams and protecting Australians from financial harm. A pilot register was launched in December 2023, involving organisations such as Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, and the Australian Taxation Office, to test the scheme’s effectiveness.

The legislation is the first step in establishing the Register and is just one element of the Government’s comprehensive approach to scam prevention.

This article also appears on Comms Room. For more details, click here.

Editors Publicspectrum

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