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This week
IN THE NEWS: Optus impersonation scams, ACCC social media sweep targets influencers
and more
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Beware! Scammers are continuing to impersonate the Optus brand to scam Australians. We are receiving reports of convincing-looking email scams using Optus branding. These scams will often mention the recent Optus data breach and ask you to click on a link to update or confirm your details for ‘security reasons’. Other examples might look like a payment reminder asking you to click on a link to pay a fake outstanding bill or update your payment method [ACMA]
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The ACCC has this week started a sweep to identify misleading testimonials and endorsements by social media influencers. It will also look at more than 100 influencers mentioned in over 150 tip-offs from consumers who responded to the ACCC’s Facebook post asking for information. Most of the tip-offs from members of the public were about influencers in beauty and lifestyle, as well as parenting and fashion, failing to disclose their affiliation with the product or company they are promoting. [ACCC media release]
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The NSW Labor has committed to tackle problematic screen and phone use among children and young people and will allocate a $2.5 million research fund to uncover its excessive use if elected—a welcome announcement lauded by the Centre for Digital Wellbeing. According to a study by Monash University, 99.2% of Australian users are afraid and feel fearful when their phone is not with them. For more than 10%, that fear is considered severe and linked to dangerous use. [iTWire]
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Telstra Wholesale and Aussie Broadband have successfully trialled the use of live 400GE client services on two diverse links between Sydney and Melbourne. This approach will enable Aussie Broadband to increase its capacity by up to 400 percent. Aussie Broadband CTO and co-founder John Reisinger said "Aussie Broadband is the first client to adopt Telstra Wholesale's native 400Gbps wavelengths, rather than stacking multiple 100Gbps services." [iTWire]
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The auDA Foundation has today announced the 15 recipients of its $600,000 2022 Grant Round. Recipients will receive $40,000 each for an education, research or community project that will enhance the utility of the internet for the benefit of Australians. [auDA media release]
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Effective from February 1, Singapore's Online Safety Act comprises a new section that regulates online communication services--specifically, social media platforms--that must comply with directives to block local access to "egregious" content or face potential fines. [ZDNET]
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William Knoll is still coming to terms with being scammed after receiving a text message from what he thought was Apple Pay, warning his service had been suspended. Worried, the 17-year-old clicked on the link — he says it looked exactly like all the other messages he had received from Apple Pay. Nothing much happened after that, until he received a phone call from the United Kingdom the next day. [ABC news]
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Phishing campaigns use fake social media profiles, in-depth research, and more to trick unsuspecting victims into clicking malicious links. Hackers are going to great lengths, including mimicking real people and creating and updating fake social media profiles, to trick victims into clicking phishing links and handing over usernames and passwords. The alert from the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) -- the cybersecurity arm of intelligence service GCHQ -- warns that the phishing attacks are targeting individuals and organisations in a range of sectors. [ZDNET]
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Applications are now open for the Albanese Government’s targeted initiative to improve mobile coverage in identified locations across the country. The $40 million Improving Mobile Coverage Round (IMCR) delivers on election commitments to fund Mobile Network Operators and Infrastructure Providers to deploy new mobile infrastructure at 54 target locations across Australia. [Minister Rowland media release]
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Demand for smartphones fell nearly 20% last year, IDC data showed. Now we're about to find out what that means for Apple. Tech tends to be one of the top gifts during the holiday shopping season, and Apple is one of the most popular brands among them. The company sold $71.6 billion worth of iPhones last year, enough to be a Fortune 50 company on its own. So, what happens when that demand collapses? [CNET]
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Tel: (02) 9288 4000
Email: media@accan.org.au
Web: accan.org.au
Twitter: @accan_au
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Although we take care to direct subscribers to sites with accurate and reliable content, we advise that ACCAN is not responsible for the content within external sites and has no control over the views, services or information contained therein. Information contained on external sites may not necessarily reflect ACCAN's policy, standards or beliefs.
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network's representation of residential and other consumers' interests in relation to telecommunications issues is made possible by funding provided by the Commonwealth of Australia under section 593 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. This funding is recovered from charges on telecommunications carriers.
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