Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

We've just heard from members in this Chamber about the extent to which Australians are increasingly facing and confronted with spam and scams. It's no surprise, as we're spending so much more of our time on our mobile phones and devices. Technology is wonderful in one way but a curse in another.

Many in this Chamber are probably exasperated with the number of times our mobile phones ring and a strange number will appear, and we don't even know what that number is. We are always receiving text messages that look like they could legitimately be from organisations such as tolls or Australia Post—and, if you have untrained eyes, you could actually click the link. As the member for New England said previously, do not click on any links you receive on your mobile phones or in emails. Unfortunately, this is such a norm in our society these days, with the scammers becoming more and more sophisticated in their craft and with the technology available for everybody to use.

I know for a fact that many of my constituents are concerned by the regular unwanted and unsolicited spam and scams. Some have unfortunately fallen for these scams, as the text messages seem legitimate in their eyes. My office in Fowler has received emails and calls from constituents who have been victims of these types of scams and cybercrime. One fell victim to a cryptocurrency scheme, with scammers convincing them to verify their transactions and identity through a 'bank' which clearly does not exist. This all occurred via text message, and he lost $59,000. As you can see, these are very real experiences of cybercrime or scams which could be prevented.

My understanding is that this bill, the Telecommunications Amendment (SMS Sender ID Register) Bill 2024, will set up a SMS sender ID registry—which I believe could help tackle cybercrime, namely prevention. Once criminals have access to our private information or steal our digital identity, it's very difficult to either recover our privacy or prosecute the offenders. Often these criminals come from outside Australia. My office recently met with the Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Centre, or JPC3, to seek information on what advice to give to Fowler residents. I'm in awe of their work, of what they do in investigating and analysing cybercrime on a national and international scale. It's incredible that their work has led to the prosecution of cybercriminals in other countries through interagency work. A vital part of the work is in passing on the lessons learned through their investigations to Australians, to inform and prevent these crimes from happening in the first place. Australians are urged to look at the website maintained for this purpose, cyber.gov.au. The information on this site could prevent a world of pain as well as help those who have been victims of these criminals.

The member for Chisholm mentioned The Little Black Book of Scams. My office has also ordered this book that is available for our community. One of the things I asked is for this book to also be in languages. We're hoping that there'll be availability in languages because, as we know, communities such as Fowler, where 70 per cent of our population are from non-English-speaking backgrounds, are often very vulnerable to scams. This kind of material in languages would be very, very helpful.

It is important to remember that these criminal individuals and networks are exploiting us. It's especially hard for elderly Australians or for Australians with intellectual disability to spot scam messages. And, as I mentioned, it's hard for new Australians whose first language is not English, like many in my electorate of Fowler. They're also very vulnerable to these messages. That is not only because of a language barrier but because government use of SMS technology might be new to them.

Falling for these scams often makes people feel stupid or humiliated, and they're not. This bill places the emphasis where it should be—not on the victim but on making it more difficult for the criminal. I acknowledge that there was industry-wide consultation ahead of writing this bill. I also welcome the flexibility that the bill affords in responding to developing technologies, as we know that these can change rapidly.

The cost of establishing and maintaining the register is about $10.9 million over four years, with ongoing costs of around $2.2 million per year thereafter. It sounds like a lot of money, but, in the context of the $3.1 billion that the ACCC reported being stolen through scams in 2022, I believe this investment will help protect our Australian public.

The work of the JPC3 and other law enforcement programs saw a reduction in SMS scams by 13.1 per cent in 2023, according to the ACCC. I welcome this news, and, in supporting this bill, my hope is that it will help to reduce SMS scams that much further.

As Australians we've taken up the convenience of accessing our banking, contacting government departments, doing our shopping and making daily transactions using our mobile phones. With AI technology now widely adopted, we must also be on alert when using such technology. It can certainly assist us, but it also hinders us, as there can be deadly weapons in scams. However, we can't surrender the benefits of existing and future technologies to those who would abuse them to steal from us.

For us here in the chamber and for those who are well educated and well informed, have access to technology and information and have English as their first language, I think being a victim of scams is probably less likely than it is for those that are from vulnerable communities. So, while I really support this bill, I call on the government to ensure that, for the vulnerable people in our communities—in communities like Fowler where English is a second language—much more is done to ensure that they are protected from the spams and scams.

That's not to mention that there are obviously increasing spam messages on social media as well. Social media is another aspect that this bill is probably not going to delve into, but I have no doubt that many small businesses who are using social media platforms to do business are constantly receiving so many spam messages that it's interrupting the transaction of their daily business. Something has to be done to assist the many small businesses that are relying not just on the social media platforms but also on their mobile phones for transactions. We must not forget the vulnerable in our communities and the small businesses in our communities that are very much vulnerable to the scams.

As we continue to make interaction with government and other important agencies and businesses easier and more effective, we must put in safeguards to protect Australians. This bill is a good step in achieving that protection, so I will definitely be supporting it.

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