Prepare now for the SMS sender ID Register

SMS scams are increasing in Australia, damaging trust and brand reputation. The new SMS Sender ID Register will help stop impersonation and protect consumers. Learn what it means and how to prepare before registration opens in November 2025.

Australia's scamming crisis

Australia, we have a scamming problem.

Scam statistics published by the Australian Government’s National Anti-Scam Centre make for grim reading.
In 2024, Australians reported to Scamwatch losses in excess of $318 million across almost 250,000 scams. Of these, more than 77,000 were scams perpetuated through text messages.

While comparative data suggest we’re faring better this year when compared with 2024 stats, with (only) $210 million in losses across 128,000 scams reported year-to-date, these figures are likely much higher if you include unreported losses, or scams reported to ReportCyber, the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange (AFCX), IDCARE and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

In addition to financial losses, scams can lead to reduced consumer trust and confidence and can have negative reputational and other non-financial impacts for businesses. For scam victims, the impact of falling for a scam can be devastating and life changing.

Top contact methods for scammers

According to Scamwatch data, top line honours are awarded to email scams, with almost 40% (n=131,544) of all scams reported since January 2024 being initiated by email messages. Over the same period, more than 89,000 SMS scams were reported (26%), with the bronze medal going to phone scams (n=59,085).

What is an SMS scam?

All SMS messages that are received by consumers show a sender ID at the top of the SMS – a message header – that identifies the sender of the message. Alphanumeric sender IDs are shortened brand or agency names in message headers that appear at the top of messages, like ‘NAB’, ‘ATO’, or ‘CBA’. They are commonly used by many well-known Australia brands and government agencies so consumers can easily identify the sender of the SMS.

Bad actors use alphanumeric sender IDs to impersonate these brands, to convince their victims the SMS messages are from a legitimate entity. SMS scams are particularly effective, because all messages from the same sender ID are filtered into one message thread on recipients’ mobile devices, further cementing the association between the message and the sender. Even scam messages sent from impersonated sender IDs will display in the same message thread as legitimate messages from the impersonated entity on consumer devices.

For example, a message thread for the sender ID ‘AusPost’ will show a scam SMS in the same message thread as a legitimate SMS from Australia Post.
 

Scammers attempt to create a sense of urgency in the messages for people to respond to, for example, by claiming a bill or toll is overdue, a delivery needs to be redirected, or reward points are about to expire. This technique is used to gain consumer trust, and trick recipients into giving personal information or money.

 

SMS scams hurt businesses as much as their customers

Impersonating a sender ID hurts brands because:
• Scam victims may stop trusting legitimate messages from entities, and/or form a negative view of the entity that the message falsely claims to come from.
• Victims expect the entity that is being impersonated to reimburse them for any money they’ve lost or take other action to resolve the problem. 

Government response

Earlier this year, the Australian Government launched the Fighting Scams Campaign, to equip Australians with simple, actionable strategies to guard against scams, and to increase their awareness and action.

“The Albanese government has made scams a priority because we get the financial and emotional turmoil victims face and we want to rid Australia of this scourge. Labor will always work hard to ensure people can keep more of what they earn and that means keeping their money safe.” - The Hon Stephen Jones MP Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services 

To prevent SMS scams in particular, the Government announced that as part of its Fighting Scams initiative, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), Australia’s communications and media services regulator, will implement an SMS sender ID register.

What is the SMS sender ID register?

The SMS sender ID register seeks to protect consumers and brands from SMS scams and to establish a safe and trusted communications channel for the Australian community, by disrupting scams that impersonate sender IDs.

Sender IDs used by legitimate entities (and their authorised contacts) to send SMS messages to consumers must be registered on the SMS sender ID register.

If messages are sent with unregistered sender IDs, the sender ID for those messages will be over-stamped (replaced) with the words ‘Unverified’, and later, ‘Likely SCAM’.

Registration protects against bad actors using sender IDs to impersonate legitimate entities, and protects consumers from receiving these types of scams. 

 

Implementation timelines

In recently announced revised timelines, the Minister for Communications, the Hon Anika Wells MP, announced on 2 October a later timeframe by which the industry standard is to commence. SMS sender ID users will need to register their IDs from 30 November 2025 with a new backstop date to 1 July 2026, at which point the register commences. This reflects a six-and-a-half-month extension from the commencement date originally proposed of 15 December 2025. After this date, all SMS messages sent with unregistered sender IDs will be marked as ‘Unverified’. 

 

ADMA submissions to the ACMA in support of the SMS sender ID register

In May 2025, ADMA made a submission to the ACMA in response to the SMS sender ID register – Consultation on a draft industry standard and proposed register operation paper. On behalf of our members, ADMA provided our support for the introduction of a mandatory SMS sender ID register, citing survey results from the Zipform Group which showed that 57% of surveyed consumer respondents identified SMS as their preferred way of receiving communications from businesses, with 53% saying they tend to treat all text messages they receive as spam if they aren’t from people they know.

In August 2025, ADMA made a second submission to the ACMA, on behalf of our members, in response to Proposed changes to the draft Telecommunications (SMS Sender ID Register) Industry Standard 2025 Consultation Paper July 2025. Therein, we flagged our concerns with the proposed implementation timelines (in relation to the original go-live date of 15 December 2025), with justification. October to December is typically busy trading times for businesses, retailers in particular. This period is oftentimes critical to achieving FY commercial goals, making it challenging and burdensome to then also prioritise implementation of new standards. By extension, customers expect uninterrupted and functional SMS communications, especially leading up to and during Christmas. Any "teething issues" with new standards could be disruptive and unwelcome. Concern with the proposed timeline is further exacerbated as many entities operate on skeleton staff and/or forced shut down periods typically from mid-December to early January. Further, ACMA's planned public information about the new register and its impact on message recipients is more likely to be "drowned out" during the October to December timeframe. For all these reasons, ADMA recommended the ACMS consider an adjusted timing, thereby allowing for smoother adoption and fewer disruptions for telecommunications providers, entities and customers.

In September 2025, ADMA wrote to the Minister for Communications, the Hon Anika Wells MP, re-iterating our request for an adjusted timing to the proposed go-live date. 

Act now

Entities should prepare now and be ready to register their sender IDs to avoid disruption of their SMS messages. Register as soon as the window opens on 30 November 2025.

Other steps that help mitigate the risk of being impersonated by scammers include:

• Provide your customers with general information and practical resources on good scam safety practices, to increase their awareness and knowledge.
   
• Tell your customers exactly how and why you would contact them, and outline what you would not request from them. This will help your customers recognise an impersonation attempt by a would-be SMS scammer.
   
• Ensure your employees are well-equipped to recognise and respond to scam attempts.
   
• Actively monitor the use of your business name online, to detect any impersonating websites or social media pages.
   
• Employees should be careful posting information online that identifies their workplace, position, work email address, and personal email address – this can make them easier to impersonate.