ACCC stories

Rise in AI technologies boosts Black Friday scam risk in Australia, with losses to fraud hitting $3.1bn in 2020.

The use of conversational tools demonstrates how threat actors are beginning to match their ingenuity with new-found precision and patience.

The Government has boosted its funding to combat online scams and fraud, as Australians have now lost almost AUD $200 million to scammers this year alone.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has recently vetoed Telstra and TPG's deal to share a network in Australia’s regional and rural areas.

The company says the agreement would provide significant benefits for customers through its 4G and 5G availability, infrastructure, RAN and coverage.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Telstra to address competition concerns with Optus.

The ACCC has given Equinix the go-ahead to lead a joint renewable energy purchasing group for solar and wind electricity generation.

In total, Australians lost $176 million to scams in 2020, 23% higher than the previous year, with phishing the most reported type.

People aged over 65 are particularly vulnerable, making the most reports and losing more than $330,000 this year. That’s more than 60% of the current losses.

Data collection and monitoring enabled by the internet of things, combined with analytics and visualisation, can help SMEs manage their energy usage.

The ACCC has issued another warning to Australians to be wary of scam tactics, as victims continue to lose large sums of money.

So far in 2018 Australians have lost more than $26 million to investment scams. Already monthly losses have increased 117% since last year.

Scammers stole $340 million from Australians in 2017 – ACCC says this is the biggest loss ever recorded on its books.

Telstra faces fines of up to AUD$10m and customer refunds after admitting to misleading consumers about its Premium Direct Billing service.

The ACCC says almost 6000 customers were unable to achieve the speeds they were paying for.

Jackson Temi Anni has been sentenced to 18-months imprisonment for lying about products and taking money directly from consumers' bank accounts.

The Federal Court has dismissed Telstra’s application for a judicial review of the ACCC’s reduced fixed line services pricing determinations.

A reseller whose conduct was deemed ‘unconscionable’ has agreed not to enter indigenous communities to sell product and will pay $20,000 in redress.

The ACCC is looking at proposals from NBN and Telstra to address concerns around the competition implications of Telstra’s involvement in the rollout.

Long running battles with ISP SoleNet, Sure Telecom and director James Harrison are heading to court as the ACCC alleges 'unconscionable conduct'.

Telco providers are being put on notice about potentially unfair, outdated contract terms, with Exetel already stung by the ACCC crackdown.

Online retailer Kogan ha paid $32,400 in penalties after being accused of increasing prices of computer monitors before putting them on sale.

Telecommunications services provider Volitech has paid a $10,200 penalty for alleged false or misleading representations.

Retailers are being reminded of their obligations under Australian Consumer Law, with another Harvey Norman franchisee fined for misleading consumers.