Receiving unwants calls saying they are from Telstra Technical Department

[Jupiter]

The Do Not Call Register is irrelevant for these types of calls. Being foreign calls (and scams), they are not required to follow (or have access to the numbers in) the Do Not Call Register.

Getting incoming International Calls blocked will reduce the number of scam calls that you receive unless they are using a VOIP service that has an Australian Gateway.

[Wanglese]

I've had 5 of these calls in the past 48 hours.  I didn't answer 4 of them.  How do I know they were scam calls?  They didn't leave voice messages, and it was the same 2 numbers calling.

We have gotten to the point that we no longer answer calls unless they come up with the caller ID - yes that leaves some relatives who have silent numbers to leave a voice message, but they always do.

I wasn't answering until I got fed up and answered the 5th one to give them a piece of my mind. Yep, a Pakistani (I traced it back) . I kept them for a bit while I traced the IP. Usual story - "I am calling from Telstra Tech Support office and we have to disconnect your internet because your PC is issuing viruses"  I asked which PC or other device, because I have several.

So that was fun, because he wanted to connect to each one, but start with the one that is already connected.  I told him they were all connected, all the time (they aren't), but one of them was behaving weirdly, because it was always rebooting. He said that is the most likely one.  So I kept him online and everytime he wanted to connect  I told him it had gone into reboot  Did that twice, then let him connect to a virtual machine, and as he connected, I closed the VM and told him it would not reboot, and he had now wrecked it.

Then I sprung it on him.  Told him I enjoyed wasting his time, and preventing him from stealing money from a poor unsuspecting victim. Fun.

I expect I will now be subscribed to multiple spam sites.

The numbers that came up were:

<Removed to secure private information>.  So these are spoofed numbers.  Not sure ACMA or Telstra can do much about them, as these low life scumbags will simply switch connections.

Oh, those numbers are now in my phone block-list so I think the phone won't even ring if those numbers try to ring.

[Scott62]

These guys just don't give up!! Have called my number 10 times today. 

The 1 time I decided to answer, the line was so scratchy that I could barely hear what they were saying. Humorous part being hearing the caller adjusting their headset, repeating "can you hear me now"? I barely got the Telstra Technical Support bit, so told them. Line is so bad, I'll call you back, then called the Legit Telstra Technical support line. Surprise, surprise it turns out it wasn't Telstra calling :-)

Best part is got the number and gave it to Telstra so they can investigate and block. 

Ignore phone calls coming from 08 9784 3812.

[mazinoz]

How nice of you to assume that all the more mature members of society are either idiots, technically / IT unaware / uneducated or both. 

[mazinoz]

Probably the best thing to do is hang up immediately.
When I had a similar experience decades ago when a pervert would ring the number I'd listed in the classifieds for a flatmate I just turned my radio up full volume into the phone earpiece. Or you could use a portable safety alarm which has a reading of about 90db. It did indeed work.

[mazinoz]

Contact the Australian Federal Police. They especially like financial fraud via internet

[Ricky11]

The "Do not call" service is different to what DeltaSquad sugggested.
The DNC is an "opt in" service used by legitimate marketers to leave you alone.

[hillbilly1]

I have received up to 6 a day at least so now i know when there is a delay in the answer after i say hello, its a scammer so i put the phone next to a radio on a talk back show and leave. The best is to put phone next to google talk or mobile talk and watch the fun.

[maria12]

I am getting 4-5 calls a day. This is so distressing. They tell me my computer has been hacked although I know it hasn't. The calls are from a private number and they say they are from telstra. I just tell them now to bugger off. It's so frustrating.

[granpa1]

yeah I hate that too!

[ProfessorPhone]

1. Absolutely a scam
2. Tell them you do not hsve a computer or ant Telstra Services.
3. Always remember they have your number
4. Tell them there is a mistake and politely tell you have a doctor's aointment and be sure to pplitely say goodbye

[mazzda]

I always ask them for their credit card number and they always hang up/

[oey]

I get these all the time to say they are going to disconnect my Internet connection...they are very consistent....try the following...

1. Tell them they have dialled the Australian Federal Police....they hang up straight away.

2. Yesterday John from Telstra in Sydney rang to say my Internet would be disconnect in 2 hours time due to hackers etc. blah blah...I told him you disconnected my Internet 3 weeks ago and it will not work...so I changed from Electricity to Gas to run my computer...he was totally confused and hung up.

3. Off topic a bit...solar panels bloke rang to see if I required these panels...told him I already solar power....the sun dries my clothes on the line...totally confused...he hung up.

[Maartje]

---

@kathyann63 wrote:

Question:  Does Telstra call you to say you have a technical fault with your internet connection?

I have had people call to say that we have a technical fault with our internet connection.  They say that they are from Telstra Technical division.  These people ring regularly sometimes twice a day.  Always with a private number or caller id says overseas number not available.  Is there anything that can be done? 

---

[MattyC]

Hi Maartje. Thanks for coming through. That's certainly not us, glad to see you've been cautious. Please see our unwelcome calls page - https://www.telstra.com.au/consumer-advice/unwelcome-calls/contact-us - for further assistance and options - Matthew.

[FelisaS]

Hi there, my phone number has always been silent and I am getting a call everyday from private numbers of the same sort. If I answer is it cause my mom phone is silent. But it is getting annoying and scaring as well.

[ZoeH]

Sorry to hear this, I would recommend having a chat to our Unwelcome Calls team on 1800 805 996, they are available from 6am to 12 midnight AEST (seven days per week). Please let me know how you go.

-Zoe

[MickyC7]

We have been receiving these calls ( always saying from Telstra & there is a internet problem or been hacked) for the last 3 years, almost every day & about the same time. Depending what sort of mood I’m in, I might play with them or outright swear at them. I have barred a couple of numbers which started with 02, now they are using 03 & also private numbers, just can’t win. My wife or other family members just don’t answer the phone anymore, as we all have mobiles. My number is on the “do not call list” but that doesn’t stop them. Pretty much they are like spam emails , but spam phone calls. I’ve had this home phone number since 1981 & hate to change it for medical or school emergencies. Just one day they may STOP😎

[Bearded1]

Yes, just hang up on them. It's a proven scam. Usually out of Mumbai. I had the same problem. The governments "Do not Call" register was a total disaster. If you use Mobile make sure you have good security. I found that this stopped it on my mobile.

[Singharoo]

Great idea! I just got a call from these guys - clearly foreign accent but said his name was Tom Cooper (yeah sure!!) and his Telstra staff ID is TS1998. Then after I frustrated him for a few minutes he put his supervisor on whose name was Sean Davis (with a seriously try-hard accent). When he asked me to go to a website www.teamviewer.com I knew this wasn't kosher. As I started asking him more questions, he hung up.

I proceeded to call back the number <removed> but it's clearly not a real number. So how can a scammer call from such a number? Who issued them a number which doesn't work on a call back? Can Telstra review the accounts of such numbers and block them?

[DeltaSquad]

@Singharoo

The practice of using numbers in this manner is known as “spoofing”. It is a practice commonly used by overseas scammers where they will randomly use any Australian number (connected numbers, disconnected numbers and numbers which are not applicable Australian phone numbers) so that when their call enters our telephone network via their VoIP/Internet data calls, it then displays to people as a call from that number. We believe this practice is used because people are more likely to answer a call from an Australian number rather than one that says private or international/overseas caller. If they use a connected phone number, the first time you become aware of it is when people start calling you back saying they missed a call from you.

Numbers used by scammers are also not necessarily Telstra connected numbers. These can belong to any provider, and even be phone numbers that are allocated to international providers.

Telstra can block incoming calls from ALL or particular countries which may reduce the number of scam calls you receive. Generally these types of calls originate from an offshore location and can be made via normal telecommunications service or VOIP/IP e.g. skype.
International blocking may not work for VOIP/IP calls as these do not traverse the international network in a traditional manner.
 

If you would like to proceed with this investigation or need further assistance, then please contact our call centre on 1800805996. (available 7 days 06:00-24:00 AEST) 

It should also be mentioned that the "Do Not Call Register" will only stop calls from legitimate Telemarketers. Scammers (by definition) don't care about the rules, however these call types can be reported to ScamWatch

[Riverrat62]

Was getting these calls up to 12 times a day. Last one left an abusive message threatening to kill me and eat my heart when i wouldn't play the game. Rang Telstra and they blocked international calls. Been peaceful ever since.

[jarnie]

I have started receiving these phone calls recently and today received FOUR of them.

They are more than pests they are .....   I won't be rude.

I either string them along to try and get information about them (yawn after taking the call and then say "oh you woke me up it must be late what time is it?" hoping they tell you what time it is where they are which is probably India), or ask them how much I need to pay and details how to pay and if they say credit card tell them that you don't have one and offer to transfer money to their bank account and get the details, or blow a loud whistle, or place the phone down without hanging up and get the talking to no one, or simply hangup. Try to annoy them as much as you can as telling them to get lost has no affect.