In a bid to protect Aussies from SMS scams, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is rolling out a new, anti-scam sender ID registry from July 1.
Under the new SMS Sender ID Register rules, scammers pretending to be from legitimate businesses, government agencies or organisations won’t be able to spoof the company name where message sender IDs appear.
However, businesses that don’t act quickly to register risk being lumped in with potential scams when their SMS lands in your messages.
Stopping scammers at send: How the ACMA’s SMS Sender ID Register works
It’s a pretty straightforward initiative. Businesses and organisations that use branded SMS to send out messages will need to add their details to the register in order to clearly identify themselves in their SMS communications. This includes businesses communicating to customers, patients and patrons, as well as government agencies like the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and Australia Post.
Think about anytime you get a text message from a retail store or a delivery service — often a business or organisation name will appear in place of the number on a message. It’s a convenient way to identify who is sending you the message, but unfortunately scammers sometimes spoof the name of a legitimate business, organisation or government agency.
“These changes will give Australians an extra layer of protection to help prevent impersonation scams,” ACMA member Samantha Yorke said.
“From 1 July people will start seeing a clear difference between text messages sent from registered sender IDs and those that have not been registered.”
Messages from businesses and organisations with unregistered sender IDs will appear as ‘unverified’ and will be grouped into a single message thread, alongside other unverified messages. While some messages listed as ‘unverified’ may be from legitimate sources, they could be placed in the same message thread as scammers — so businesses should act now to register.
What are SMS scams?
SMS scams are much like the email scams that clog up your junk inbox — they often pretend to be from a legitimate source, like a bank, government agency or other service provider.
The aim is usually to get something from you: you may be asked to send money, or scammers could steal your login credentials or gain access to your device. The scam message might ask you to click on a link provided in the text, call an included number, transfer money, or share personal information (username, password, etc.).
Because an SMS may only have a phone number attached, it can be harder for users to verify the authenticity of the sender compared to email scams, where the email address might make the scam more obvious.
This is what the ACMA’s SMS Sender ID Register is hoping to fix.
If your business or organisation is unregistered, prepare to be unverified
Aussie (and international) businesses and organisations that use SMS services to reach Australians are being urged to register their sender IDs before the July deadline. If you don’t register, you run the risk of not reaching your customers/patients/etc. with important information.
This isn’t just about big businesses and government agencies, like banks and the ATO. The rule changes may also impact local business and community groups, like medical clinics, charities, real estate agencies, clubs and venues that use branded text messages through telcos or message service providers. You also don’t need to have an ABN to register, with separate requirements for those with and without an ABN.
Many businesses and organisations may have already received communications from their telco or message service provider, but there are concerns that many eligible groups still haven’t registered. The SMS Sender ID Register uses the Australian Business Register (ABR), so there are a few steps you’ll need to take to update your ABR details, with more information outlined on the ACMA website.
- Head over to the abr.gov.au website and click ‘Update your ABN details’.
- Log in using your Digital ID.
- Check your authorised contacts. Make sure the listed email address is one you actually access, or that you are approved by the authorised contact on file.
- Submit the changes and you're good to go.
Registered tax or BAS agents can also update details on your behalf, or you can get in touch with the ABR for assistance. Certified telcos and message providers are also authorised to register on behalf of organisations without an ABN.
The ACMA also has a list of businesses and organisations that have registered with the SMS Sender ID Register.
Top tips: How to protect yourself from SMS scams
The ACMA states that Australians lost around $18 million to SMS scams last year, with many of these messages pretending to be from legitimate businesses or brands. But there are ways you can protect yourself from SMS scams.
- Is the message from an unverified sender? There could be a reason it’s there, especially if it’s claiming to be from a legitimate business or organisation.
- Are there links in the message? Financial institutions, like banks and government agencies, usually don’t include links in messages and may direct you to log into your account or open the related app. If in doubt, log into your account via the official website or app to check for any notifications or issues.
- Is there a sense of urgency? Many scammers rely on panic to suck you into the scam. For example, if you have a late or overdue bill, your service provider will usually give you a longer period of time to make payments before disconnection.
- Verify the communications. Did you also receive an email about the same thing, such as an email notification that a parcel you’re expecting has been shipped to you? Are you expecting confirmation about an appointment? If the message is about something you’re not expecting, verify the information by logging into your account/app/etc., and checking past communications from the sender. You can also get in touch with the business or organisation to confirm if these are legitimate communications.
Even the most scam-savvy of us aren’t immune. I consider myself to be very aware of scammers, but I’ve had that moment of panic when ‘Australia Post’ needs me to verify my postcode through a dodgy link — and it just so happens that I’m expecting a delivery. But after taking a breath and thinking about it, I remind myself that Australia Post wouldn’t actually send me this sort of communication and I simply check my parcel tracking through the app to make sure everything is fine.
It’s always helpful to take a pause and think whenever you receive a message from a business or organisation that requires some sort of action on your behalf, such as confirming an appointment or updating details. Just taking a moment to think it through could make all the difference.
