ACCAN has recently received reports from members about an increase in unwanted telemarketing calls, as well as outright telemarketing scams. In a welcome move, Telstra has issued a media release reminding customers across Australia to beware of scammers who attempt to obtain their personal information via telephone. In the past 12 months customer comments regarding these calls have increased four-fold.

The majority of cases involve customers receiving a call on their landline phone being told they need to pay for technical support to fix a problem on their home computer. The caller falsely claims they are from Telstra and asks for remote access to the computer. The scammers appear to want customers’ identity and to obtain personal banking details.

If you receive such a call you can report it to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission via the SCAMwatch website at www.scamwatch.gov.au or by contacting Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or www.crimestoppers.com.au. You can also report the scams to Telstra using the Telstra 24 x7 app, by calling 13 22 00 or by visiting Telstra's misuse of service page.

For further information: Telstra warns against scammers taking their name