Known Scams and Fraud List

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Known Scams and Fraud List

Your privacy and security are of the utmost importance to us. You can count on us to take the necessary measures to protect your information. There can however be some scenarios that are outside of our control: social engineers and fraudsters that can find ways to trick those targeted into divulging their sensitive info.

We hope to educate and raise awareness to safeguard themselves against these attempts. Here's a list of known scams and fraud that have been flagged by our security team. Most aren't unique to TELUS, so exercise the same level of caution with whichever brands these attempts may identify themselves with.

Please note, this list is not inclusive of all scams currently in circulation and if in doubt, please contact a TELUS representative or reach out to us over at our Twitter / X or Facebook pages should you have any questions. 

Call Forwarding Scam

Scammers may contact you posing as someone from TELUS or a different business, asking you to dial *21 followed by a ten digit number. Regardless of what they may tell you, doing so would forward any incoming calls made to your mobile phone to the fraudsters instead. This may include calls from your bank or other service providers.

This facilitates a growing scam, enabling fraudsters to make unauthorized changes to your services, or even create new accounts with your personal information.

Google Voice Scam

Scammers target people who post items for sale on platforms such as Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. They also target people who post that they're looking for help to find a lost pet or item. These scammers will contact you and say they want to buy your item or that they've found your pet.

Before committing to buying the item or returning your pet, they fake hesitation. They may say they've heard about fake listings or scams and want to verify you're a real person. They'll send you a text message with a Google Voice verification code and ask you for that code. If you give them the verification code, they'll try to use it to create a Google Voice number linked to your phone number.

What you can do

If someone asks you to share a Google verification code with them, do not do it. Cease all communication with them. Google also recommends this, and if you or someone you know has given someone a Google Voice verification code, follow Google's steps outlined here. 

Network Outage Rebate Scam

There's a scam that directs you to a fake website to claim a rebate/credit as a result of a network outage. You'll possibly be contacted via text message; an example of the message is as follows:

Subject: Telus Customer

As a result of connection problems in the previous month, several Telus customers have had their past bills paid. Visit http://telus- fake website.com to complete your claim and get your 87.50CAD deposit.

What you can do

TELUS does not direct our clients to a website to apply for rebates/credits for network issues. Do not click on the website link provided in such messages. Forward the spam to 7726 with the word SPAM in the body of the message. We have step-by-step instructions on how to do this here. 

Posing as TELUS Recruitment for a job posting

In this scam, a fraudster poses as TELUS Recruitment and asks for $50 for a "Premium ID" as part of the application process.

What you can do

TELUS never requests monetary deposits for any roles/projects with our company. Do not give out any personal information and forward the email to [email protected]

International Call Replay

There have been reports of people not hearing live audio from the party they're speaking with during an international call. Instead, audio played back from earlier in the conversation is heard.

What you can do

Contact TELUS with the following information:

• Time of the call
• Originating number and destination number of the call
• Who originated the call itself
• Description of the experience

Scams involving non-TELUS entities (Revenue Canada, Service Canada, etc.)

You may receive a perceived scam call involving a different company or entity such as the Canada Revenue Agency or Service Canada. In may cases, call recipients are told that they've been reported to be owing money or in recent contact with someone confirmed to have COVID-19. The recipient is then asked for their address and sensitive info such as Social Insurance Number.

What you can do

Report any of these suspected scams to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) at 1-888-495-8501. We take these nuisance/scam calls very seriously, and you can see more information about protecting your privacy and security at our website. 

Account Credit Scam (by phone or email)

You may receive an email that appears to have been sent by TELUS. The email may encourage you to upgrade your TV package and to call a 1-8XX number in order to do so. Once you dial that number, you reach a fake IVR again pretending to be TELUS which mentions that you have a large credit balance owed to you. You're then transferred to a fraudulent 'TELUS agent' who then requests your personal information in order to pay out the money.

What you can do

Do not dial the number provided. Do not provide any personal information if you haven't reached out to TELUS via our official number. Contact an official TELUS representative with the following information:

• Your name and phone number
• Account number
• Details of the fraudulent call you received

Vacation Scam

This scam involves receiving a call with a recorded voice that thanks you for choosing TELUS and offers you a free vacation or prize for being a good customer. If you stay on the line, the call will connect you to a person who will try to convince you to give them your personal info or send money as a down payment on the vacation fees, etc.

What you can do

Do not give out any personal information and simply hang up. Legitimate telemarketers will always know your name and will always provide you with a callback number to call them back at your convenience. This is a well known scam, and TELUS is working every day to have these fraudulent calls stopped.

Pop-ups on websites

You may see a pop-up when browsing online or via social media, advising that as a TELUS customer you are eligible to take a survey and/or win a prize.

What you can do

Close the window and ignore. These types of contests are not standard TELUS practice. For more information on these phishing attempts, visit our website. 

Posing as TELUS Support advising of internet/computer problems

In this scam, a fraudster poses as TELUS Support advising you that you have a virus or computer problem in an attempt to gain your personal information.

What you can do

Do not give any details to the fraudster or click on any links that may allow them to access your computer. If you think your computer may have been compromised, please contact TELUS at 1-888-811-2323 right away to investigate.

Door to Door salesperson posing as a TELUS employee

You may receive a visit from a fraudster pretending to be a legitimate TELUS employee.

What you can do

Verify the name and ID of the salesperson. We have a great article about everything you need to know about our Door to Door team here. Do not give out any personal info if anything seems suspicious. If anything does seem suspicious to you, contact TELUS right away with the following:

• Date / Time / Address of the encounter.
• Name of the salesperson if they gave it to you.

Fraudulent call asking to confirm your Wireless Number and/or PIN

You may receive a call with an automated message with a recording such as "Is XXX-XXX-XXXX your number? If so, press 1 and enter your PIN number to speak with an agent." The recording may say it's from a legitimate entity such as the Canada Revenue Agency. In these cases, fraudsters are spoofing different numbers and may even appear as 1-8XX numbers to try to appear real.

What you can do

Do not give out any personal information or enter any PIN numbers; simply hang up. Scams like this can be common, and TELUS is working every day to have these fraudulent calls stopped.

Fraudulent text messages

You may receive fraudulent text messages stating that you'll receive a credit to your account with a link to redeem the offer. the link then takes you to a fraudulent website address such as www.telusbonus.homestead.com  (DO NOT VISIT SITE) or www.telus50rewards.com  (DO NOT VISIT SITE)

If you enter any personal information at one of these sites, fraudsters may be able to use it to access your self-serve portal and gain control of your services.

What can you do

Do not tap/click on any links such as this, or enter any personal information. Forward the spam to 7726 with the word SPAM in the body of the message. We have step-by-step instructions on how to do this here. You can also reach out to TELUS at 1-888-811-2323 or 1-866-558-2273 to have our team investigate.

e.Bill Fraud

You may receive an email that appears authentic, claiming that there's an issue with your e.bill and asking you to log in to verify your information. It may falsely state that TELUS has sent the email because your last payment has been declined and that TELUS is unable to process the payment. It may also say you need to update your billing info or risk having your services interrupted. You may be prompted to click on a link to log in and provide current sensitive information.

What you can do

Do not click on any link or submit any personal info. Forward the email to our team at [email protected] and then delete it from your inbox. TELUS will never send an email asking for you to verify any personal or sensitive information. For more info about this type of scam and how you can protect yourself, visit our website here. 

Free features/services or credits

You may receive a call from a spoofed number, offering things such as promotional rate plans, free services, or credits. The caller will ask for your sensitive/personal or account information to apply for the promotion.

What you can do

As before, never give out any personal or account information, and simply end the call. No further action is needed.

Toll Fraud

You may receive a call from an overseas number that will ring only once or twice, just so the number appears in your missed calls or on your Caller ID. If you call the number back, you'll reach a premium-rate number that charges high rates to you on top of the regular overseas long-distance charge.

What you can do

Do not respond to the incoming call and more importantly, if you missed the call - do not call back. Report the call to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre with the date and time of the call, and number from which it came.

Number Spoofing

A common scam, with fraudsters spoofing the number of TELUS clients so that their actual number instead appears as a different local number, which increases the chances that you'll answer the call. If you do answer, the fraudster will possibly attempt to utilize any of the other scams on this list to acquire your personal or account information.

What you can do

No action is required. TELUS is aware of these types of calls and that our actual customers didn't place them, but rather had their number spoofed. The spoofed number is picked at random or by a computer, and no accounts are compromised. We still recommend however reporting the call to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre with the date and time of the call, and number from which it came.

Also note, legitimate businesses can have their numbers spoofed too, so it's a good idea to not give our your personal information and instead contact them back from the official contact information found on their official website.

If you feel that you've been the victim of this or any other kind of similar scam, reach out to us over at our Twitter / X or Facebook pages so we can verify your account info to investigate further!