11Identity authentication requirements for people in vulnerable circumstances

11 Identity authentication requirements for people in vulnerable circumstances

(1) This section applies if:

(a) a high-risk customer interaction is initiated; and

(b) an employee or agent of the carriage service provider for the telecommunications service who has completed fraud mitigation training, has reasonable grounds to believe that the requesting person is a person in vulnerable circumstances.

(2) An employee or agent of the carriage service provider for the telecommunications service who has completed fraud mitigation training, must use the following identity authentication processes to confirm that the requesting person is the customer, or the customer’s authorised representative, for that service: (a) at least two account information authenticators; or (b) at least two personal information authenticators; or (c) at least: (i) one account information authenticator; and (ii) one personal information authenticator. (3) If a carriage service provider completes one or more high-risk customer transactions under this section the provider must keep a record of the details of the high-risk customer interaction including: (a) the identity authentication process used for the purposes of subsection (2); (b) the basis on which the employee or agent of the provider reasonably believed that the requesting person was a person in vulnerable circumstances; and (c) any material or supporting evidence that was provided by the requesting person. (4) When the identity authentication processes in this section are used, the carriage service provider must, immediately after it has used an identity authentication process for subsection (2), and either prior to, or immediately after, undertaking the first high-risk customer transaction, send a notification to the customer, or the customer’s authorised representative as the case may be (the relevant person):

(a) by SMS message to the mobile service number which is listed on the customer’s account as the contact number for the customer; or

(b) by email to an email address that has been validated by the relevant person; or

(c) by an in-app message to a carriage service provider’s mobile application that has been validated by the relevant person; or

(d) to some other device or account which has been validated by the relevant person;

which informs the relevant person:

(e) that a high-risk customer interaction has been initiated; and

(f) what the relevant person can do if they did not authorise the interaction.

(5) The requirement in subsection (4) does not apply where there is no mobile service number, validated email address, validated mobile application or other validated device or account associated with the customer’s account. (6) The requirement in subsection (4) does not apply where: (a) the carriage service provider has reasonable grounds to believe that the customer is affected by domestic or family violence; and (b) the customer has requested that the notification not be sent. (7) If, in response to a notification sent for the purposes of subsection 4, a relevant person takes the action referred to in paragraph (4)(f): (a) where one or more high-risk customer transactions have already been completed by the carriage service provider – the provider must: (i) take steps to immediately reverse or remediate any completed transaction; (ii) notify the relevant person of steps taken by the carriage service provider under subparagraph (i); and (iii) notify the relevant person of what they can do to protect the customer’s account; and (b) where a high-risk customer transaction has not yet been undertaken by the carriage service provider – the provider must not undertake a high-risk customer transaction and must: (i) notify the relevant person that the carriage service provider has not undertaken the high-risk customer transaction; and (ii) notify the relevant person of what they can do to protect the customer’s account.