SIM-only telco Circles.Life will pay out more than $300,000 in fines and compensation, after breaking industry rules designed to protect customers against identity theft scammers.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) hit Circles.Life with almost $200,000 in penalties, after an investigation found that the telco had failed to run the required identity checks for phone number transfers between August and December 2021. The ACMA logged 1,787 rule breaches, which it says resulted in 42 customers experiencing fraud-related issues, seven of whom also suffered financial losses.
ACMA: Circles.Life’s failure caused ‘significant stress’ to customers
The ACMA introduced new industry rules to combat number porting scams back in 2020, which require telcos to use multi-factor identification and identity checks to protect customers. However, it seems Circles.Life failed to effectively implement these checks when accepting number transfers, resulting in affected customers experiencing compromised personal info and loss of access to sensitive data such as online banking.
ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said that anti-fraud rules have been highly successful since their introduction, but telcos are still responsible for following policy to keep customers safe.
“It is deeply concerning that Circles.Life did not have proper processes in place for such a long period and that so many people were affected or put at risk of…
