Less than four months since the scam call blocking code was registered, millions of calls have been stopped in Australia.
Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said on Tuesday that Australian telcos have blocked over 55 million scam calls since the industry got a new scam call code in December. Under the code, telcos need to block not only calls originating in their networks, but also those transiting the network. Carriers are required to look for characteristics of scam calls, share information with other telcos and regulators, block numbers being used for scams including those from overseas, and take measures to combat number spoofing. “In 2020, Australians lost AU$48 million to scam calls,” Fletcher said. “The Morrison government is serious about tackling scams and it is pleasing to see that more than 55 million scam calls have been blocked as a result of the Reducing Scam Calls Code.” When the code was introduced, ACMA said telcos had blocked over 30 million scam calls in the year prior.
