Transcript - Interview with Natalie Barr and Matt Shirvington - Sunrise

NATALIE BARR, HOST: Well, there's nothing more annoying than getting a scam call or a text. And even though it might feel like there's no end in sight, more scammers than ever are actually being barred from contacting you.

 

MATT SHIRVINGTON, HOST: New data out this morning shows more than 250 million scam calls and 85 million scam text were blocked between April and June. It's now been a year since a new industry code was introduced to fight the problem. We're joined now by Communications Minister Michelle Rowland. Good morning to you, Minister. Well, if 250 million plus scam calls are being blocked in just three months, how many are still getting through?

 

MICHELLE ROWLAND, MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS: That gives you a sense of the scale of the problem that we have here. It is a significant milestone that in the last year we've actually managed to block one billion telco scams – that's texts and calls. But again, these are sophisticated criminals. They use every technology available.

 

Whilst it is very pleasing to see that the industry rules are working, and that combination of government and the telco sector is having an impact, consumers still need to be extremely vigilant because there's no silver bullet to this. Go to scamwatch.gov.au to see some of the latest ones. But again, it is pleasing to see that this is working.

 

BARR: Yeah, it feels like as the government gets smarter, the scammers are getting even smarter. So, Australians have lost more than $3 billion. That was last year. Can the Government introduce legislation to require the telcos and the banks to do even more to protect customers here?

 

ROWLAND: That's exactly what we're doing. Since 1 July, we have established our National Anti-Scam Centre, which is bringing together the sector, the telcos, our regulators, and in particular, our law enforcement agencies. They are doing a lot of work in this area.

 

In our May Budget, we have funded a new SMS Sender ID Registry. Many of you viewers will know that sometimes they have a legitimate series of texts, but sometimes they get one that manages to slip in and impersonate a trusted brand. We're putting an end to that.

 

BARR: Minister, nice to know that you are making some inroads. Still need to remain vigilant, though. Thanks for joining us.

 

ROWLAND: Thank you.