Telstra has been fined $1.5 million for leaving customers vulnerable to scams.

Telstra has been fined $1.5 million for exposing customers to fraud and scam attempts.

An investigation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) revealed that Telstra failed to authenticate customer IDs between August 2022 and April 2023 during 168,000 high-risk interactions, such as password resets or SIM card swaps.

ACMA introduced rules in 2022 requiring telcos to use multi-factor ID authentication, such as one-time codes, before allowing changes or transactions that could compromise a customer’s account. The investigation found that Telstra was not compliant with these regulations, identifying over 7,000 instances involving vulnerable customers.

Authority member Samantha Yorke stated that victims of mobile fraud lost an average of $28,000.

“It is unacceptable that Telstra did not have proper systems in place when the rules came into force,” she said. “SIM-swap scams can be particularly devastating, as victims can lose life savings as well as control of their phone number and other personal information.”

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