Action regarding spam emails
What actions are available to me to handle spam emails? I am constantly 'unsubscribing' to mailing list upon which I never signed up. I have also been reaching out to the companies that contact me by phone, asking for them to remove me and tell me how they found me but they say 'we'll get back to you' and then they never do.
Is it possible to force disclosure of an entity as to how they have received knowledge of my email as I'm starting to feel these emails are harassment.
Thanks in advance!
Hi there. It sounds like you’re having a frustrating time.
Australia has Federal anti spam laws in place called the Spam Act 2003 (Cth) which are enforced by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). This means that ACMA takes all complains and enquiries about spam in Australia. The Spam Act applies to electronic spam, such as email and SMS. Under this act, a message will be considered spam if its purpose is to:
- offer, advertise or promote the supply of goods, services,
land or business or investment opportunities;
- advertise or promote a supplier of goods, services, land or
a provider of business or investment opportunities; or
- assist a person to dishonestly obtain property, commercial advantage or other gain from another person.
Under this act, a message with any of the above purposes may only be sent to you with your consent. Consent here includes express consent (ticking “yes” to be sent advertising) or inferred consent (when you already have a relationship with sender such as a subscription to their magazine). In addition to consent, all advertising material sent to you must clearly identify who is sent by, and all messages must contain an “unsubscribe” option.
Suggested way forward
If the material sent to you does not appear to comply with these requirements we recommend that you can visit the ACMA website and lodge a complaint with them. If the senders are Australian companies and they are found to be breaching the law concerning spam, they may be liable for large civil penalties. ACMA will conduct an investigation on your behalf and will inform you of the outcome.
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