ACCC warns millions of Telstra customers about letter scam

Millions of Telstra customers are being warned to stay on the lookout for letters sent by scammers aimed at convincing people to hand over money.

Scamwatch, run by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), shared the warning alongside a photo of the type of letter currently being used by fraudsters.

“Beware, scammers are using letters like this to convince people to withdraw money and hand it over in person to someone that will collect it from their home,” Scamwatch wrote.

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“This is a scam. Warn your friends, family, and neighbours.”

The letter features Telstra’s logo and claims to be from the Telstra Technical Department in Melbourne.

Scamwatch has warned Australians to stay on the lookout for letters pretending to be from reputable companies asking for money. Credit: Scamwatch

It then states the recipient’s network has been hacked, and that Telstra will run an operation to get rid of any problems.

“As per the conversations we have (sent money) into your bank account which you have already taken for this operation,” it reads.

“Now you just have to hand over that sponsored money of Telstra to one of our Telstra agent(sic), you will get rest of the details from our investigating officer Adam Wilson.”

“We are requesting you to cooperate with us in this operation for the next 24 hours.”

The letter goes on to request that the recipient “not disclose” the issue to anyone as it is a “secret mission” to catch the hackers.

To add to the legitimacy, a case number and a telephone number are also included at the bottom of the letter.

Australians are estimated to have lost more than $2 billion to scams in 2021.

The most amount of money lost ($701 million) was to investment scams, followed by payment redirection scams ($227 million), and romance scams ($142 million).

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