$22.25 million fine for SMS spam

The ACMA has won a further $6.5 million in penalties against two SMS spammers, bringing the total amount of penalties in the case against Jobspy, Mobilegate and Winning Bid to $22.25 million.

The Federal Court in Brisbane imposed the fines against Jobspy Pty Ltd and Scott Mark Moles, an individual involved with the mobile spam scheme. The ACMA first began court proceedings in January, and has already seen penalties of $15.75 million handed down to five other respondents in October.

The ACMA alleged that the respondents used fake dating profiles on the web to gain mobile numbers from genuine users, who were then spammed at a cost of approximately $5 per message. The Authority claims that the scam has cost Australian mobile users over $4 million since late 2005.

The case highlighted the willingness of the ACMA to fully penalise breaches of the Spam Act, said Chairman Chris Chapman. He added that the hefty fines should serve as a warning to any would-be spammers.

There is still a final respondent to go before the courts in February 2010, with the possibility of more fines being imposed.