NEW INDUSTRY CODE TO COMBAT SCAM CALLS
Sydney, 2 December 2020 - The telecommunications sector today welcomed the decision to register a progressive new industry-developed Code to combat the scourge of scam telephone calls.
The Code – C661:2020, Reducing Scam Calls – is the output of work initiated in August 2019 by Communications Alliance and its members. The Code is a comprehensive effort to improve industry’s coordinated ability to detect, trace and block scam calls. The updated Code includes requirements to:
- monitor networks, looking for call characteristics that indicate a likelihood that scamming is happening;
- share information between service providers and also with regulators;
- trace the origin of scam calls;
- combat number ‘spoofing’, in which an overseas call is made to look as though it is a call from an Australian number; and
- block numbers being used for scams, including through cooperation with international operators.
Communications Alliance CEO, John Stanton, praised the efforts of the industry working party that agreed the Code requirements and drove the process to see the Code registered by the industry regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
“There is a shared recognition that scam calls are financially damaging and distressful to thousands of Australians and need to be curbed through concerted joint efforts,” Mr Stanton said.
“We welcome the collaborative approach taken by the Federal Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, Paul Fletcher and regulators, in concert with industry, to combat this problem.
“Millions of scam calls have been blocked in recent trial initiatives and service providers are investing in new technologies and processes to enable them to realise the objectives and requirements of the new Code,” Mr Stanton concluded.
ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS ALLIANCE
Communications Alliance is the primary communications industry body in Australia. Its membership is drawn from a wide cross-section of the communications industry, including carriers, carriage and internet service providers, content providers, platform providers, equipment vendors, IT companies, consultants and business groups.
Its vision is to be the most influential association in Australian communications, co-operatively initiating programs that promote sustainable industry development, innovation and growth, while generating positive outcomes for customers and society.
The prime mission of Communications Alliance is to create a co-operative stakeholder environment that allows the industry to take the lead on initiatives which grow the Australian communications industry, enhance the connectivity of all Australians and foster the highest standards of business behaviour. For more details about Communications Alliance, see www.commsalliance.com.au.
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Sefiani
Aprille Lim alim@sefiani.com.au
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