<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Latitude Finance Australia has been hit with a massive $3.96 million penalty after an investigation revealed a staggering 2.7 million breaches of the nation's anti-spam laws. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) confirmed today that the financial services giant is now a "two-time offender," having failed to clean up its act following a previous million-dollar fine for similar conduct just three years ago.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Latitude provides personal finance products to customers in Australia and New Zealand, ranging from credit cards, personal loans, car loans and insurance, but is best known for offering interest-free credit cards with major retailers.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/dog-attack-western-australia-woman-mauled-and-her-pet-killed-in-vicious-dog-attack-in-perth-driveway/9302f6dc-b86a-4f30-943d-6bb65b3eccde" rel="" target="" title="Woman mauled and her pet killed in dog attack in Perth driveway"><strong><span>Woman mauled and her pet killed in dog attack in Perth driveway</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The ACMA investigation, which spanned from March 2024 to April 2025, uncovered a systematic failure in how Latitude communicated with its customers. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The findings revealed that the company sent more than 2.3 million marketing messages without accurate contact information, while nearly 345,000 of those messages lacked a working unsubscribe function. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The breaches were discovered through Latitude's own mandatory compliance reporting - a requirement from a previous court-enforceable undertaking.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/latitude-finance-slapped-with-4m-fine-over-second-spam-breaches/dc19f65b-f806-4884-a923-5080be299c60" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>ACMA member Samantha Yorke expressed frustration at the company's repeated failure to follow laws.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Latitude is now a two‑time offender and it is disappointing that it let consumers down again," Ms Yorke said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"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."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While the messages promoted Latitude credit card products and financial services and told recipients they could reply "STOP" to unsubscribe, many of those messages were technically incapable of being used in that way.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Under Australia's spam laws, consumers must have a functional option to unsubscribe from commercial messages, and senders are required to provide accurate contact information. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In response to these latest failures, the ACMA has accepted new court-enforceable undertakings from Latitude. These requirements force the company to appoint an independent consultant to review its compliance and provide regular, comprehensive reporting to the regulator.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This latest $3.96 million fine is more than double the $1.55 million penalty Latitude paid in 2022, signaling the regulator's dwindling patience with corporate recidivism. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The ACMA has warned that it will be monitoring the company very closely given its history of non-compliance. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Over the last 18 months alone, Australian businesses have paid more than $10.6 million in spam penalties, serving as a costly reminder that the "STOP" button is not optional.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Latitude said today in an ASX announcement that it acknowledged ACMA's findings and its enforceable undertaking.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Upon becoming aware that it had sent potentially non-compliant SMSs, Latitude reported the matter to the ACMA and immediately strengthened its spam compliance processes," Latitude said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><p><strong><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via </span></strong><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727"><strong><span>Apple</span></strong></a><strong><span> and </span></strong><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1"><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></a></p></li><li><p><strong><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by </span></strong><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w"><strong><span>ticking this box here</span></strong></a></p></li></ul></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><span>Sign up to </span></strong><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>