Latitude Financial has been fined nearly $4 million for sending millions of spam emails.
The financial services company is back in hot water after 2.7 million spam marketing emails were sent out without accurate contact information. A further 344,000 did not include an option to opt-out or unsubscribe.
The emails were promoting the company’s financial services and credit card products. They included messaging telling receivers to reply ‘STOP’ to unsubscribe. Many of those emails were not capable of unsubscribing.
This is the second time Latitude has been fined in regards to breaches of spam laws. The company paid a $1.5 million fine back in 2022.
ACMA was able to identify the most recent breaches through mandatory compliance reporting under a court-enforceable undertaking. This was entered into following the company’s previous breaches in 2022.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) labelled the company a “two-time offender”
ACMA member Samantha Yorke said: “The spam laws have been in place for more than 20 years, and there is simply no excuse for ongoing non‑compliance, particularly after a prior enforcement action.”
“Given Latitude’s history of non-compliance, we will be very closely monitoring how it meets its obligations,” Yorke added.
As a result of the breaches, Latitude Financials must now appoint an independent consultant review its compliance of the in place laws and undergo regular reporting to ACMA.
