FROM mid-next week, potential SMS scams could be easier for people to spot.
From 1 July, text messages sent using business or organisation names that have not been registered will appear on mobile phones labelled unverified.
Instead of appearing in their own conversation, unverified messages will be grouped together with other unverified texts, including suspected scam messages.
Legitimate businesses that have registered their sender ID, such as Australia Post, Linkt and myGov, will continue to appear under their usual branded name.
The changes are part of a new SMS Sender ID Register aimed at making it harder for scammers to impersonate trusted organisations.
Australian Communications and Media Authority, or ACMA, member Samantha Yorke said the changes would give Australians another way to identify suspicious messages.
“From 1 July, people will start seeing a clear difference between text messages sent from registered sender IDs and those that have not been registered,” Ms Yorke said.
She urged people to treat any message marked unverified with caution and avoid clicking on links or providing personal information unless they were certain it was genuine.
“If in any doubt, check for verified contact details online or via bills and only make contact via that channel,” she said.
More than 17,000 sender IDs have already been registered, with businesses still able to register through their SMS provider.
Australians lost almost $18 million to SMS scams last year, many involving messages impersonating well-known brands.
Information, user guides and fact sheets about the SMS Sender ID Register are available on the ACMA website.