SIMProtect – Educating the public on risks and the prevention of mobile number porting scams

Description of impact *

Mobile phones were by far the most prevalent delivery technique among the 20,000 identity theft incidents reported in 2020 according to the ACCC. SIMProtect combines research on cyber security, financial risk, psychology, and consumer education with a strong community engagement component. Since its launch in May 2021, SIMProtect has improved social welfare and individual wellbeing for Australians by raising awareness and better protecting consumers from the risks of fraudulent mobile number porting and identity theft. Using innovative web-based and social media technology, the project delivered an educational website and an educational online game, promoted via an animated advertisement to educate consumers about the following areas:

1.The nature of mobile number porting scams;
2.Warning signs of identity theft and how to protect yourself;
3.Practical steps to minimise risk of identity theft and financial crimes;
4.Steps to recover quickly, if consumers do fall victim.

The project has been featured in the media, including ABC News, ABC Radio Sydney’s Breakfast Show, The Lighthouse and The Australian Cyber Security Magazine. Awareness raised through this project has also contributed to a major policy change, the ‘Telecommunications Mobile Number Pre-Porting Additional Identity Verification Industry Standard’ (https://www.acma.gov.au/port-customers-phone-number), making fraudulent mobile number porting more difficult for cyber-criminals. However, the problem persists and raising ongoing awareness among consumers is of major importance. Since the launch of the social media campaign in June 2021, SIMProtect has already generated over 300,000 page reaches on Facebook, while the SIMProtect website has attracted more than 1,000 visitors per week.

Impact date	1 Aug 2019 → 14 Feb 2022
Category of impact	Society impacts, Policy impacts
Impact level	Benefit (mid)