15 September 2006
ACMA moves to stop ‘missed call’ marketing
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has advised two companies alleged to have engaged in ‘missed call’ marketing that these marketing activities are likely to constitute serious and extensive contraventions of the Spam Act 2003. Following ACMA’s intervention the companies responsible have now stopped making these calls while ACMA’s investigations are undertaken.
‘Missed call’ marketing is the term that has been given to the practice of calling a mobile telephone for such a short period of time that the owner cannot answer the call. When the marketer disconnects the call, most mobile phones present a ‘missed call’ notification with the marketer’s number. The marketer intends that the owner of the phone will think that they have missed a legitimate call and ring the number back, in which case they hear a recorded promotional message.
‘This is similar to receiving email spam which includes nothing except a link to a website,’ said Nerida O’Loughlin, General Manager of ACMA’s Industry Outputs Division. ‘In many ways, it is worse, as the cost of marketing is shifted almost entirely to the target, and the method of communication is more intrusive.
‘ACMA has closely scrutinised the missed call marketing practice to determine whether it is in breach of the anti-spam legislation. We believe that it is, and would like to send a clear message to the public and the industry about the legality of this practice,’ she said.
In the first and most prevalent example of ‘missed call’ marketing, callers were told about a gift of mobile content that they could receive by calling a 190 premium rate number.
In a more recent example of this type of marketing, callers were advised of a mobile premium SMS-based dating service operated on a ’19’ number.
ACMA recommends that members of the public should be wary of calling back ‘missed calls’ from numbers they do not recognise.
Members of the public who have experienced ‘missed call’ marketing can lodge complaints on the ACMA website. Complainants are asked to include as much detail as possible, including the calling number, date and time of the missed call, and, if the complainant has rung the number, the content of the recorded message.
ACMA will not provide further comment on its ‘missed call’ investigation until it has completed this investigation.
Media contact: Donald Robertson, ACMA Media Manager on (02) 9334 7980
Backgrounder
Spam Act 2003
ACMA is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Spam Act 2003. The Spam Act came into force on 10 April 2004, and regulates the sending of commercial electronic messages. Enforcement actions ACMA has undertaken since commencement of the Act have included the issue of several fines and the successful prosecution of a major Australian spammer in the Federal Court.
ACMA investigations into ‘missed call marketing’
ACMA has initiated investigations into potential breaches of the Spam Act by two companies that are alleged to have engaged in ‘missed call marketing’.
‘Missed call' marketing
‘Missed call' marketing refers to the practice of ringing a mobile telephone number for such a short period of time that the owner cannot answer the incoming call. Instead, the call is only intended to generate a ‘missed call’ notification and cause the recipient to think that they have missed a genuine attempt at contact and attempt to return the call.
If the recipient calls the number, they hear a recorded promotional message.
This practice is intended to shift the cost of telemarketing almost entirely to the target of that marketing – the consumer.
