Circles.Life fined over identity checking failures during mobile porting

Circles.Life, a now-defunct mobile virtual network operator, has been fined $413,160 for its role in enabling mobile phone porting scams that netted scammers at least $45,000.

An investigation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority found Circles.Life transferred mobile numbers to its service 26 times over a six-month period “without first adequately verifying the identity of the person requesting the transfer.”

“Scammers had stolen these numbers and used them to access some people’s bank accounts,” the ACMA said in a statement.

“As a result, affected consumers reported losses totalling at least $45,000.”

It’s the second penalty for Circles.Life, which paid just shy of $200,000 for contravening the same rules in mid-2022.

“It is simply unacceptable that Circles.Life failed a second time to follow the identity checking rules that prevent criminals from committing mobile number fraud,” ACMA member Samantha Yorke said.

The $413,160 fine is the largest of its type paid for failure to perform identity verification checks during porting.

The ACMA said the cause of the latest contraventions were “customer service agents engaged through a third-party company not following identity verification procedures.”

However, Yorke noted that all telcos needed to be across, and ultimately take responsibility for, the work of outsourcers.

Circles.Life ceased its Australian operations earlier this year and agreed to transfer its customer base to Amaysim.