Spam Policy
What is spam?
Spam is the common term for unsolicited electronic messages. In other words one or more unwanted commercial electronic messages that does not include accurate sender information or does not include a functional unsubscribe facility.
The Spam Act 2003 (the Act) makes it an offence to send unwanted (ie unsolicited) commercial electronic messages. Electronic messages include the following:
- Emails
- Mobile phone text messages (SMS)
- Multimedia messages (MMS)
- Instant messages (IM)
What penalties apply to those who send spam?
Businesses and individuals in breach of the Act may be subject to financial penalties of up $1.1 million per day. If you use your Vodafone service to send or assist in the sending of Spam you may have your service suspended and/or account terminated as well as face penalties under the Spam Act.
How does Vodafone help minimise my exposure to Spam?
As part of our Spam reduction strategy we use a commercial spam filtering product, updated every 15 minutes with the latest spam definitions from our commercial provider. The spam filter scans all emails as the server receives it for potential problems. This filter sorts your incoming email messages and assigns them to the user's spam folder, if it believes the email to be spam. This may result in the loss of some legitimate electronic messages. Vodafone does not currently charge for the provision of this Spam filter.
How can I minimise my exposure to spam?
Spammers use tools to collect contact details such as email addresses from the Internet so when online it is best to avoid giving out your email address or any other contact information, unless you are confident you are in a secure environment.
- Avoid giving out your email address or any other contact information, unless you are confident you are in a secure environment.
- Check an organisation's privacy policy and consent arrangements before disclosing your personal information to them.
- Only open attachments if you know what they contain or who has sent them to you. Otherwise, it is safest to delete the message immediately.
- Install anti-virus software onto your PC and ensure you regularly update it and scan your PC for virus infections. PC's with a virus infection can unwittingly be made to transmit email spam.
What should I do if I think I have received spam?
Do not respond to the sender if the source seems dubious, the best thing to do is to delete the message without opening it.
Contact the business directly to make a complaint - if you have already opened the message and you are unsure whether the source is authentic, check for accurate sender information. If the spam advertises a legitimate Australian business, you may wish to contact the business directly by telephone or in writing to make a complaint and request that they do not send you any more messages.
How do I opt out of Vodafone marketing messages?
When customers join Vodafone they agree to Vodafone’s Marketing Terms and Conditions. A customer will receive marketing messages unless they choose to opt out. To opt out of receiving marketing messages from Vodafone contact Customer Care on 1555 from your Vodafone mobile or 1300 650 410 from any phone. Alternatively use the unsubscribe facility, which is part of every Vodafone email message.
Spam enquiries
For any other questions regarding spam and critical spam issues including denial of service attacks, please contact us by:
- Visiting us at a Store near you
- Calling Customer Care on 1555 from your Vodafone mobile or 1300 650 410 from any phone
Reporting spam received from a Vodafone source
For complaints regarding spam and critical spam issues including Spam being received from a Vodafone source, please contact us by:
- Visiting us at a Store near you
- Calling Customer Care on 1555 from your Vodafone mobile or 1300 650 410 from any phone
You can view our Complaints Policy for more information about the complaints process. We will acknowledge the receipt of your spam complaint.
Reporting spam received from other service providers
Where you receive spam from another service provider or their customers that you can identify, contact that other service provider (mobile carriers or ISPs) via the relevant contact details on their website and raise your complaint directly with them or you can escalate spam complaints about any telecommunications service provider to:
the ACMA; or
the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) on 1800062058
Further action
If you have a complaint about compliance with the Internet industry Spam Code of Practice by a service provider, you should contact the ACMA.
Once a complaint is referred to the ACMA by a user, the ACMA may choose to refer that complaint to the IIA or TIO under section 514 of the Telecommunications Act.
You can also report or lodge complaints regarding spam to the following organisations:
Australian Communications & Media Authority
If you believe that spam contains material that promotes or advertises content that is likely to cause offence you can report it to the ACMA. The information you provide will assist the ACMA to identify patterns of Spamming activities affecting Australia.
Privacy Commissioner – 1300 363 992 or go to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
If you believe spam you have received appears to be the result of misuse of personal information.
Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (the ACCC) – 1300 302 502.
If you believe spam you have received contains misleading and deceptive conduct.
You can get further information about spam from the following organisations: