Hyarchis busted in ACMA spam crackdown

Premium SMS provider Hyarchis Company is the latest to feature on a growing hitlist of firms caught by the Australian Communications and Media Authority for alleged breaches of the Spam Act.

Hyarchis is alleged to have sent commercial electronic messages by SMS, without the consent of the recipient.

The exact nature of the messages was not disclosed; however, in a statement ACMA did let on that they were in relation to mobile premium services, which ‘usually cost more than standard SMS messages and charges can apply for messages, sent and received’.

“If you receive unwanted messages from unknown numbers that advertise a business or service, or invite you to sign up to a subscription, you could be getting spammed,” said Lyn Maddock, Acting ACMA Chair.

“Consumers should be aware that providing consent to receive messages from mobile premium service providers also amounts to giving permission to be billed for these services.”

Hyarchis received a formal warning rather than a fine over the alleged breaches.

However they are the latest to be outed in what appears to be a crackdown by the regulatory watchdog on Spam practices.