Australians are reminded that NBN Co does not make unsolicited calls to remotely access computers or request money direct from consumers
Scammers are increasing their efforts to use the nbn brand to steal people’s personal or financial details, with NBN Co’s contact centre receiving an average of 643 enquires a week on suspected scam calls between July and December 2019.
In the six months to December 2019, over 180 000 people contacted NBN Co to report a scam, with approximately 31% per cent of those calls coming from residents in NSW; 28 per cent from Victoria and 19 per cent from Queensland.
Many reported they received an automated call from ‘Nicole at nbn’ with a warning that their services would be disconnected if they didn’t ‘press 1’ to speak to a technician. Other popular scams designed to defraud the community include requests to remotely access a computer or laptop to fix an issue with the connection, or help “set -up” or activate services.
NBN Co’s Chief Security Officer, Darren Kane, said the company’s remains focus on scams prevention and helping people to identify and avoid scammers.
“While we do have a few people named Nicole working at NBN Co, they – or any of our employee’s – are not calling customers and threatening to disconnect services. In fact, nbn will never call and ask to access your computer or advise that you’re going to be disconnected.
“It is important that we set the record straight when it comes to scams so that Australians can identify and protect themselves from being duped by these professional criminals.
“As NBN Co is a wholesaler, we will never contact residents or businesses to sell phone or internet services. We will never make unsolicited calls or door knock for the purposes of seeking access to people’s computer, threaten to disconnect your services or request personal or financial details.
“Your phone and internet provider will always be the first point of contact when it comes to making the switch to the nbn™ network, so if you’re in doubt, hang up and contact your provider to verify the call.”
NBN Co’s top tips for protecting against scammers:
