Spam Act 2003 Consumer Education and Awareness

About the ACA Independent government regulator Ensures industry compliance with legislation (Telecommunications Act 1997, Spam Act 2003) and with licence conditions, codes and standards Works with communications industry to achieve active self-regulation Monitors effect of regulations to ensure they meet community’s needs Consumer protection and education role

Fighting spam 1. Legislation 2. Education (business and consumer) 3. Industry partnerships 4. Technological solutions 5. International cooperation The Australian Government’s five-part strategy:

Spam: background information Spam is now over 60% of traffic Often carries viruses Linked to crime (fraud and scam s) Offensive content Threatening viability of Less than 2% of spam comes from Australian sources

Spam Act 2003 Took effect April 2004 ‘Unsolicited commercial electronic messages’ must not be sent Covers , SMS (text messages), MMS (multi-media messages) and iM (instant messaging) Does not cover faxes, telemarketing, pop-ups A single message can be spam

Spam Act 2003 Consent (express or inferred); Identify; and Unsubscribe All commercial electronic messages require: + No address-harvesting software or harvested lists

What is consent? Two types of consent: Express and Inferred How can I give express consent? –filling in a paper or web-based form –ticking a box –consenting in person or over the phone How can my consent be inferred? –strong existing business or other relationships –‘conspicuous publication’ of a work-related electronic address (conditions apply)

When can my consent be inferred? 1. Through a strong existing business or other relationship - Must be a ‘reasonable expectation’ of receiving commercial messages from that source - Casual or one-off transactions not enough 2. When your work-related electronic address is ‘conspicuously published’ -E.g. on website, newspaper, phonebook -Message must relate directly to nature of your work

Identify and Unsubscribe As well as meeting the consent condition, all commercial electronic messages must include: Information that allows you to identify the organisation that authorised the message; and An unsubscribe facility so you can ‘opt out’ of future messages -Must be easy to use, and at low or no cost to you -Requests must be honoured within 5 working days

Exemptions Designated Commercial Electronic Messages Are exempt from the Act’s consent and unsubscribe conditions But must include accurate sender information Designated messages include: - Purely factual information - Certain messages from: charities; government; religious organisations; registered political parties; educational institutions (past and present students + their families)

Spam reduction tips Protect your address from spammers: Try not to reveal your address when online Use different addresses for specific purposes Protect your mobile phone number too Read sign-up and privacy conditions carefully If you have a website: -List a non-personal address; and -Omit symbol; or -Post the address as a image, not text

Spam reduction tips Boost your internet security: Use filtering software to reduce incoming spam Don’t be an ‘accidental spammer’: ensure spammers can’t send spam through your computer or server. Protect yourself with… -Anti-virus software -Firewalls -Security patches -Long and random passwords -Treat attachments with caution

Unsubscribing from spam Check the subject line to judge the risk… Legitimate Australian businesses: -Goods or services usually genuine -Safe to unsubscribe -Should honour request within 5 working days Professional spammers: -Dubious content: Viagra, porn, get-rich schemes etc. -Risky to unsubscribe (tells spammer you exist!) -Best to delete message without opening it

scams and fraud Growing link between spam and crime Remember: if an offer sounds too good to be true… it probably is! Protect your personal information online Ignore s touting ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes Beware of phishing scams: - s that pretend to be from your bank, asking you to click a link to the bank’s website and enter your account details and password. Don’t be fooled!

Reporting spam You can report spam, or make a complaint about spam, through the ACMA’s website… Click on: ‘Reporting spam’