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Australian telecommunications provider Optus Mobile has paid a penalty of $826,320 for breaching anti-scam regulations, resulting in financial losses and identity theft for multiple customers, regulators announced Tuesday.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority found Optus violated telecommunications rules on 44 occasions between September and October 2024. Scammers exploited a vulnerability in a third-party identity verification system used by Optus, enabling them to bypass required security checks and gain control of at least four consumers’ mobile services.
The breach led to unauthorized access to bank accounts and reported consumer losses totaling $39,000, according to the ACMA investigation.
“Scammers are always looking for any weaknesses in systems, and on this occasion Optus left a vulnerability which directly exposed people to harm,” Authority Member Samantha Yorke said in a statement. She described the lapses as “inexcusable” for Australia’s second-largest telecommunications provider.
The penalty represents the maximum financial sanction available to the ACMA under current regulations. Yorke said the amount reflects the serious nature of the violations.
The breaches involved the Telecommunications Mobile Number Pre-Porting Additional Identity Verification Industry Standard, introduced in 2020 to prevent mobile number fraud. The standard requires telecommunications companies to verify customer identity before transferring phone numbers to new providers.
Disrupting mobile number fraud is a current compliance priority for the regulator. Businesses have paid more than $1.9 million for breaches of the same standard in the past 12 months, according to ACMA figures.
Optus has remediated the security vulnerability, though the company has not issued a public statement regarding the penalty.
The ACMA urged consumers to contact their telecommunications provider and financial institution immediately if they suspect they have been targeted by mobile number fraud.
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