0279812755 : Another Telstra impostor

Received a call from the number in the header .

1 ) Told me my internet was going to be disconnected

2 ) or there is silence for 5-10 seconds and then a recorded " good bye "

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Many of these scammer use phantom number and create new numbers regularly (to try and avoid a number being listed as a scammer and then blocked by receivers).

These phantom number generators are part of the robocall system they use and they will try and use numbers which seem local (well, not so local but maybe from Australia) to try and coax the receipt of the call.

I avoid any number I am not familiar with and let them go to an answering machine. If they are genuine, they will leave a message (even some scammers will but these can be deleted)ā€¦while most scammers will hang up.

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If you receive this type of call on an android phone, and are using the Google phone app, itā€™s worth using the Block/report spam option. Google collates the data on reported spam calls. I get calls from unrecognised numbers that have already been identified as ā€œPossible Spamā€ when my phone rings. Makes it much easier to ignore them.

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The calls are coming in on my land line number . When I go over to NBN the calls will stop . Hopefully .

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[quote=ā€œvax2000, post:4, topic:18407ā€] . When I go over to NBN the calls will stop.
Hopefully.
[/quote]
I congratulate your optimism, @vax2000, but fear youā€™ll be disappointed,
theyā€™ll find something else to bother us about.
Even though I donā€™t answer my landline,
I average 3 - 4 nuisance calls a week, for the past 4 years. And because they rarely leave a message, I donā€™t even know what they are calling about ( and I couldnā€™t care less). So, sorry, just be prepared :wink:.

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Sorry to tell you, but when I changed over to NBN from ADSL2+ the spam calls kept coming at the same pace. 27 calls received while we were away recently for 15 days.
I used to block the numbers, but since spammers are changing the numbers they call from, what seems like every day, I do what other writers above have suggested. I have Calling Number Display (CND) and message bank on landline, and donā€™t answer if the call is from a private number, or the caller ID is shown as ā€œunavailableā€. Genuine callers will leave a message, whereas as spammers usually wonā€™t.
I have called backed a lot of spammers on my mobile phone, where I can suppress the display of my mobile number. In nearly all cases I get a message ā€˜That the number is not connected, or has been disconnected.ā€™

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That has been my experience too if ever I bother to chase up the number.
What really makes me wonder is how they get so many phone numbers to hide behind: as soon as they make the call the line gets disconnected? :thinking:

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They donā€™t. What they do is add a fake number/caller id to the call data to make it look like it is from that number. They use the same lines, just fake tye caller ids.

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Dammā€¦, I never thought of that :open_mouth:
I have a private number that I never give outā€¦, normallyā€¦, except on very rare occasionsā€¦, yet in the last few weeks I have seem a huge increase in the number of scammers (normally trying to pass them selves off as the Taxation dept wanting to talk to me about a problem with my ABN (which I havenā€™t used in 3 years due to sickness). I immediately recognised it as a scamā€¦, but be warned they ā€œDOā€ sound very very officialā€¦, DONā€™T BE CONNEDā€¦, the taxation dept will NEVER phone (or e-mail) youā€¦, they will ALWAYS send you a letter.
I wondered how the hell these people got hold of my PH numberā€¦, now I know.

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They didnā€™t. Their robocall software scrolls through numbers until someone answers. For example, they will ring ABCD EFG1, and then ABCD EFG2 etc until a number rings and then answers.

If one answers the call, the system knows that it is an active and answering number which mostly will mean they will keep trying the same number as persistence may pay offā€¦that is, one may be more likely to be sucked into the scamā€¦

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[quote=ā€œgarymel, post:9, topic:18407ā€]
The Taxation department will never callā€¦
they will send you a letterā€¦] quote.

Very good point to remember: any Gov
communication is done by letter.
We shouldnā€™t fall prey to such phone scams.

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They do phone you, just not very often is it an occurrence. I was phoned about a Tax debt that accrued because of the change to Spouse deductions. I then had to go through MyGov to finalise the arrangement.

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As @phb notes they can add a ā€œfalseā€ number to their call, though most often it is through the use of legitimate Australian numbers bought as blocks from the Australian Government through a VOIP provider. From the wiki article of Caller ID spoofing, which is what @phb is discussing ie Caller ID spoofing, ā€œCompanies such as these lease out thousands of phone numbers to anonymous voice-mail providers who, in combination with dubious companies like ā€œPhone Broadcast Clubā€ (who do the actual spoofing), allow phone spam to become an increasingly widespread and pervasive problemā€. It is the lack of restriction on using Australian numbers only for Australian businesses and individuals which creates most of the issues.

The Spoofers can cycle through these numbers easily and when you try to ring one back if the VOIP service has it as inactive you will get the disconnected service message. Happens quickly ie the spoofer moves to their next active number in their list of available caller IDs as easily as clicking on the next choice in their system. They may cycle through them for every batch of robocalls that are made and may not come back to that number for days or weeks.

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Thank you so much,@grahroll,
for taking the time and trouble to explain all of that.
I really had no idea How it worked!
I just wish something could be done to put a stop to it!
Thanks again, much appreciated :blush::tulip:

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The Australian Govt could halt the sale of numbers to non Australians but it isnā€™t in their interest to do so ie it makes them money.

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They could if it was the only way to spoof numhersā€¦butā€¦there are basically three different ways to spoof a number.

  1. You can just sign up for an additional permanent number through a call forwarding website or appā€¦or using a number released by the industry.
  2. you can get a temporary number from sites more oriented towards ā€œburnerā€ numbers.
  3. you can use various apps/software to enter a false phone number to the call data that will show up on the other end of the lineā€™s caller ID, while actually just using another/different number to make the call.

My understanding is most scammers use the third option, there the fake caller id/phone number is added to the call data. This allows the scammers to roll through almost endless number of numbers (limited to tbe number of digits used). There have also been numerous reports in Australia where real numbers have been spoofed and there are innocent individuals which have been subject to unsavoury calls as a result of their real number appearing as the scammers call idā€¦the unsavoury calls from call recipients returning the call using the same number and thinking the person who answered was the scammer.

Here is one exampleā€¦

Unfortunately, the halting the release of new nunbers is unlikely to affect number spoofing.

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I wonder if they could get hold of a ā€˜Silentā€™ number?
And would such a number than show as Private or as a real number?

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We have a VOIP home phone as it comes at no extra cost with our Internode NBN package.

It is unlisted, at no additional charge, and we never get any calls other than from family who know the number.

We also no longer get any scammer calls to our mobiles which are on the Do Not Call register althought we still receive SMS messages regarding all the millions we regulary ā€œwinā€.

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A silent number is a numberā€¦and any number can be spoofed. Having a siltent number provides no protection to having oneā€™s number being spoofed. The risks are the same as a listed phone number.

If for example your silent phone number was 1234 5678, the likelihood that this number is randomally generated by the scam callerā€™s phone system/software is no different to a listed number.

Silent number donā€™t provide any protection against the number being spoofed nor reduces the likelihood of scammers calling the number.

My understanding is a spoofed silent number will show when a scammer uses it. Silent relates to not publically listed and not that it will not be shown as a caller id.

One can turn off caller id off so recepients can see the called number (i.e. phone number wonā€™t be displayed at the recipient end). Most phone systems will display these as the number being a ā€˜private numberā€™. Your telco service provider will have information on their website about how to turn off caller id. It usually is either via a website control panel or using phone key commands (keying is particular sequence of phone buttons).

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Thank you, @phb, Iā€™m sorry to hear that,
was hoping it would be protected.

My landline has an unlisted number and I
understand the number is automatically
blocked, although I can unblock it by
using a prefix when calling.

My iPhone displays my cnd. As there hasnā€™t been too much nuisance to date, I have let it be. I understand that I could block that on a call to call basis.

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