Protect your phone

The fixed line phone has traditionally been used by scammers to call unsuspecting consumers in an attempt to persuade them to divulge their financial and personal details and to entice them into investment strategies with amazing financial returns.

Scammers have seen the boom in mobile phone ownership as opening up new opportunities for them to contact anyone and have sought to profit from preying on the unwary.

This even extends to children with mobile phones. Young people are offered the latest ring tone or wall paper and subsequently find their prepaid phone credits disappear with premium rate charges.

Consumers can avoid scams when they know what to look out for, or exercise caution so as to refuse to fall into the scammer’s trap. The following tips will assist .

Useful tips

Be suspicious of unexpected calls and text messages
Before replying to calls or text messages, remember to check the number. If you make a call or return a call using a “190” number you will generally be charged at a higher rate than a local call. If you receive a text message from a “19” number you will generally be charged at a higher rate than a standard text message and you could also be charged for both messages you receive and send in reply.

Hang up. Or text “STOP”
If you receive a call with an offer that sounds too good to be true, then it probably is, so hang up. If you receive a text message containing no more than a person’s first name or containing a greeting from a person you don’t know (for example: “Hi, I’m back”), check the number before you reply to make sure you won’t be charged at a premium rate. A text message with a number that begins with “19” is generally charged at a higher rate than a standard text message. Text the word “STOP” for any service you don’t want that uses a “19” number.

Don’t give your number to just anyone
Be careful when giving your phone number to a caller you don’t know, even if they claim to be from a reputable organisation. Ask them why they need your number and what will they use it for. Look out for terms and conditions which permit the organisation to give your number to any other company and tell them you don’t want your information given out to anyone else. Also think about using the facility on your phone to block your phone number when you make calls. Contact your phone company for advice on how to block your phone number.

Phone scams come in a variety of types:

Voice services
•  Cold calling where calls are made offering guaranteed high returns on investments including shares, mortgages, real estate, options trading, foreign currency trading and the investments don’t exist.
•  Phone slamming where subscribers are signed up to phone plans without their knowledge or consent.
•  Phishing calls where phone owners are called for the purpose of obtaining their personal information and or credit card details to later discover their identity has been stolen or money taken from their accounts.

SMS scams
•  Offers of free or low-cost ring tones where the phone owner accepts the content without being made aware that they have subscribed to an ongoing service charged at a premium rate.
•  Unexpected prize scam where the phone owner is told that they have won a prize but they must call a premium rate number to collect the prize. The caller either does not receive the prize or it is not what was promised.

Recent cases of phone scams include:
Text message scam
Pete is sent a text saying “Hi, I’m back. Can we catch up?” He innocently replies to the text asking who the sender is. Pete is strung along with text messages such as “Can’t you guess?” After a number of messages are sent and received, the messages cease without Pete discovering the identity of the person. The next time Pete checks his record of calls, he discovers he has been charged $5 for every message he sent and received.

Missed call scam
Helen’s phone rings but the caller hangs up so quickly that Helen doesn’t have time to answer the call. The phone registers a missed call with a number that Helen doesn’t recognise. When she calls the number back to find out who had called her, she receives a message that she has won a prize and is given a “190” number to call to claim her prize. She does not appreciate, however, that calls to this number are charged at a premium rate. The cost of the call was significantly more than she was willing to pay for the prize.

Initiatives to reduce phone scams

Mobile Premium Services Industry Scheme
The Mobile Premium Services Industry Scheme was developed by providers of mobile phone services and mobile content and came into force late last year. The scheme applies to all services that deliver content to mobile phones for a premium charge including by SMS.

Among other features, the scheme prevents unwanted content by requiring providers to action a “STOP” command sent by text by the phone owner in order to discontinue unwanted services or messages. The scheme also contains rules to ensure consumers are informed about the nature of services, costs, and terms and conditions of services before first use.

Further information about the Mobile Premium Services Industry Scheme can be found at the ACMA website at http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD//pc=PC_100796. The scheme can also be found on the Communications Alliance website at www.commsalliance.com.au/projects/mobile_premium_services

Do Not Call Register
The Federal Government's Do Not Call Register is expected to be launched by May 2007. Telemarketers will be prohibited from making a telemarketing call to a land line or mobile number which has been included in the register. It will be illegal for any non-exempt telemarketers in Australia or overseas to contact a number listed in the register.

Further information about the Do Not Call Register can be found at the ACMA website at www.acma.gov.au/donotcall.

How the TIO can help

The TIO cannot consider a complaint unless the consumer has tried to resolve the problem with their service provider.

Telemarketing

The TIO cannot generally investigate cold calling when the calls are not from a telephone or internet service provider. The TIO can take complaints about telemarketing from telecommunications or internet service providers, where the consumer has asked the provider in question not to call them but the company has persisted. In certain circumstances, the TIO may investigate telemarketing complaints where the company is not a member of the TIO Scheme*.

The TIO may investigate a complaint about general telemarketing where:

• the consumer had asked the company in question not to call them but the company had continued to contact them and
• the consumer did not have contact details for that company.

Such a complaint could be considered as a complaint about an unwelcome call from an unknown party. The Do Not Call Register (see above) will offer consumers further protection when it is introduced in May.

Premium SMS
The TIO can handle complaints under the Mobile Premium Service Industry Scheme.

Slamming
The TIO can handle complaints where subscribers are signed up to phone plans without their knowledge or consent.

Phishing calls
The TIO cannot handle complaints unless the call is from a telephone or internet service provider.

* All telecommunications and internet service providers must by law be members of the TIO Scheme

Consumers who think they’ve spotted a scam can check the SCAMwatch website at www.scamwatch.gov.au which has detailed information about scams, or report a scam on 1300 795 995.

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