‘Just hang up’: Police warn of Telstra hacking scam

Police are warning the public to be wary of a new Telstra scam doing the rounds, urging people to “just hang up” if they receive one of the dodgy calls.

Members of the Financial and Cyber Crime Group were alerted to the scammer, who claims they are from the Telstra Anti-Hacking Unit, telling people their email has been hacked.

In a statement released by Queensland Police, Detective Superintendent Terry Lawrence warned people that calls from the scammer appear to originate from a southern state.

“It is important people know utility companies will not ring you and seek funds to catch offenders. This is our job. Once the scammers get your information, or money from you, they will come back for more,” he said.

As part of the scam, the victim is instructed to log onto their email, with the scammer claiming there are overseas originating emails in the account, proving the email account has been hacked.

The scammer then attempts to solicit funds from the victim to catch the perpetrator. If funds are paid, the scammer calls back seeking further funds, claiming to have caught an offender and needing more money to catch the others responsible.

“If you receive a call from someone outlining you have been hacked or requesting money, just hang up. Should you receive a telephone call or find yourself a victim of a scam like this, report it immediately via ACORN, www.acorn.gov.au,” Lawrence urged.

Unfortunately this scam is just one of many circulating throughout the country with one elderly woman falling victim to the crime earlier this year.

Read more: ‘Telstra’ scammers trick elderly woman out of $23,000 in just a month

The fraudsters masqueraded behind the trusted brand name of Telstra to trick the 89-year-old out of her savings, first conning her into transferring $5,000 and even helping her set up an online banking profile to make the transfer quicker.

Telstra itself has repeatedly warned customers against transferring money or allowing access to accounts when advised by phone, telling people that the company doesn’t ever initiate contact with customers by phone unless the customer has requested it.

It says there are usually several warning signs that a call is a scam, such as poor call quality, a request for immediate action or claims that your computer has a virus or is spreading a virus to others.

Have you ever fallen victim to a scam?