The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) will work together to reinforce current collaborative efforts in their fight against phone spam and scams.
ACMA and NZ’s DIA have struck a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote strategic engagement, ease information sharing, and improve compliance and enforcement outcomes.
ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said Australia and New Zealand have long been partners and face many of the same issues regarding reducing spam and SMS scams.
O’Loughlin said, “Just about everyone with a mobile phone or email address will understand the frustration from unwanted spam and scams.”
According to ACMA’s 2021 research, 98% of Australian adults receive unsolicited communications on their phones.
In October 2021, Australia’s federal government launched an initiative to block scam text messages posing as legitimate government sender IDs.
The initiative followed a year-long pilot program that focused on capturing phishing texts appearing to come from government agencies. The program blocked around 2,500 scam texts over 12 months.
Read here: Australian Government successfully blocks scam texts – CommsRoom
O’Loughlin added, “The recent ‘FluBot’ malware scam affected both Australians and New Zealanders, and information sharing with our New Zealand counterparts has aided the ACMA’s spam and scam work.”
O’Loughlin believes that the deal will strengthen Australia’s ‘already close’ ties with New Zealand in eliminating spam and scams.
“This agreement will see our already-close relationship with our New Zealand counterparts enhanced through more strategic cooperation,” she said.
Likewise, NZ’s DIA Secretary Paul James seconds O’Loughlin on the belief that the agreement will lift the two nation’s already close cooperation.
James claimed that the ability of the agencies to share intelligence, strategies, and tools for combating spam, as well as information on phishing and malware distributed via spam, reflects the two regulators’ close working relationship.
James said, “Phishing campaigns and malware delivered through spam continues to be an increasing challenge globally – working collaboratively with other international jurisdictions is a key way to tackle this issue and protect New Zealanders.”
The ACMA has signed similar agreements with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and the Federal Communications Commission of the United States.
Read here: Australia-US to collaborate in fight against phone scams – CommsRoom
All four agencies belong to the Unsolicited Messages Enforcement Network, a global network of regulators and important stakeholders dedicated to combating unsolicited communications.
The MoU between ACMA and NZ’s DIA is available on the ACMA website.
Jaw de Guzman is the content producer for Comms Room, a knowledge platform and website aimed at assisting the communications industry and its professionals.
