The Albanese Government is strengthening Australians’ protection against scam text messages.

In one month, the SMS Sender ID Register will be launched by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

From July 1, the register will help protect Australians from scam messages that impersonate the sender IDs of organisations like the Australian Tax Office, Australia Post, banks and retailers. 

Sender IDs are the names at the top of text messages that tell you who the message is from.

More than 12,000 sender IDs have already been registered.  Businesses and organisations that have not yet registered their IDs should contact their SMS provider now to make sure they are ready for when the Register begins. 

From 1 July, if a sender ID is not registered, the SMS will be labelled as ‘Unverified’ as a warning to people that it could be a scam.

The Register will help establish a safe and trusted communications channel for people by blocking scammers trying to impersonate legitimate businesses, government agencies and other organisations.

More information on the register is available here.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Communications, Anika Wells:

“Each year, SMS scams rip off hard-working Australians to the tune of millions of dollars – and we want to put a stop to it. 

“The SMS Sender ID Register will help protect hard-working Australians from scammers and is another tool the Albanese Government is adding to its arsenal of the world’s toughest anti‑scam laws.  

“As well as better protecting Australians from scammers, the Register will improve trust in communications from legitimate companies, with consumers having more confidence that SMS messages are from who they say they are.”

“The Register will further work being done by the Albanese Government to tackle scams, with banking, telecommunications, and key digital platforms, the first sectors designated under the Scams Prevention Framework.”

Quotes attributable to Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Daniel Mulino:

“Scams are an insidious and harmful form of economic crime.

“We are putting in place a world-leading, ecosystem-based approach to prevent, detect, disrupt, and respond to scams.

“Australians deserve to feel safe when they bank, connect and transact online.”