In great news for everyone with a phone in Australia, the ACMA has been given powers to withdraw a phone number if it is used for scams or other fraudulent activity.
This new power is conditional, however.
The changes can be found within the Telecommunications Numbering Plan Variation 2022 (No. 1), which makes for an interesting read if you’re a fan of legislation of such a niche type. But on the very high chance that you are not a fan of flipping through jargon, here’s what they mean.
The ACMA may withdraw a number (other than an international signalling point code or a mobile network code) if it has reasonable grounds to believe that the number has been used or is likely to be used in association with a scam communication or other fraudulent activity.
The ACMA also has to be satisfied that the benefits of withdrawing the number, or the problems to be avoided by withdrawing the number, are more significant for end users (us) and carriage service providers (like Telstra, Optus) than any adverse technical and financial consequences of withdrawing the number.
Basically, the consequences of removing the number need to be far less than the consequences of keeping the scammer with an open line of communication to your ears.
If the ACMA does decide to withdraw a number, it has to give written notice of the withdrawal to the carriage service provider that holds the number. This notice has to contain the appropriate legal jargon and the telco holding the number has five business days to comply.
Small steps but if it means we receive one less call that starts with a beep then a connection to someone trying to scam us, we’re going to declare it a win.
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