Forum Discussion
Optik TV Added After Suspicious Call; Legit?
I'm very confused right now. Today, I received a call from 833-390-3721, claiming to be a representative from Telus. Because I had only switched to Telus a month ago, I thought they were calling to a...
BrandonT
TELUS Team Member
TELUS Team MemberHi Kupa,
Do they usually ask customers for their SIN numbers?
As a TELUS employee, I can confirm that yes, there are specific times where we may request a SIN, Date of Birth, Drivers License Number. For example, we always request 2 pieces of ID when activating new accounts, and processing credit checks. Source: TELUS Website - Checklist for activations and renewals. To prevent unwanted activity on your TELUS account, we want to make sure its really you. So we may still ask existing customers of TELUS to provide types of identification for specific scenarios and or triggers.
Regarding the phone numbers you mentioned: 833-390-3721, 844-962-1419
These are not listed on the TELUS website, and I am unable to find any internal directories that use this numbers either. I have seen rare occurrences where an official TELUS sales team uses a unique number, or a 3rd party marketing agency offering TELUS services uses a number we are not familiar with. With that being said, I personally would not trust those numbers due to the limited information on them. I would just call into TELUS using the numbers shown on our website.
Regarding the emails you mentioned: [email protected] , [email protected]
These are real TELUS emails. The first one is used for quotes. The other one I cant find any specifics on, but it uses the offical @telus.com domain which is trusted.
Regarding the number that texted you: 777222
This number is used when an appointment is created for new service, or an installation for home services.
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I do suggest that you give TELUS a call, request that they review recent changes made on your account so you can see if you recognize all of them. Then have them check to see if there are any new accounts opened with your information. If you recognize all changes, and you recognize all of the accounts open under your details, there is no active concerns to worry about.
If you have concerns with the details you shared over the phone, and you want to be proactive in protecting yourself, you could call Equfax and Transunion. Request they review any recent credit checks, and also request they add a Fraud Alert on your file. This will prevent anyone, including yourself from having getting a credit check. If a credit check is requested, Transunion/Equfax will notify you that an attempt was made, and you will then have to manually approve or decline it.
I hope that helps clarify some things for you.
Hi Brandon,
I called this number:1-833-390-3721. I got a TELUS representative. My account clearly came up. I have advised said agent to escalate this to the manager and whatever team manages the outbound phone system used to contact customers.
I have also been getting calls from this number, and they have not been leaving voicemails. Sometimes I get calls multiple times in one day. I also have call control on so I know its a human trying to reach me. The agent did not know about the number.
The thing is, call center phone systems will sometimes have multiple caller ID numbers that DO NOT MATCH anything on the website. This is a very normal practice for call centers.
The problem with this, is in a day and age where you can be scammed for just answering your phone and being hung up on, people don't answer numbers they don't know. Whomever is doing said outbound calls trying to sell services needs to learn to leave a voicemail, or your team who deals with the phone service should see if maybe having a call display name on outbound calls is an option.
Hope this helps, From a fellow call center worker.
I recently have spoken to a fellow from this #1-833-390-3721. It actually comes up as Telus when I’m in BC Canada but when I’m in the USA it’s just the number that comes up. As toll free service. Anyway the fellow is selling a promotion. I told hi. I need to think on it and call me back in a few more days as I need a few more days to think about it. I’ve talked to him twice already. I will ask him how do I know you’re legit? But I will contact Telus to check.
- A-B
Community Manager
Can't find that number on my end here, so it doesn't appear to be legitimate. You did the right thing to be vigilant as unfortunately there are a lot of fraudulent callers claiming to be TELUS, etc.
- Today I received a call from that same number and Googled it in case there was some sort of scam. They said nothing, hung up after saying a couple of words I didn’t understand.
Will block this number. Thanks for reporting your experience. - I just blocked it.
I’m sure it’s a legit contact from TELUS, but I guarantee they’re trying to sell something. The give-away is actually the lack of voicemail, which tells me the most important thing… they push sales for a commission of some kind.
If they leave a voicemail and you call back, there’s almost zero chance of getting the same person.. so someone else gets the commission.
All these companies are pretty well the same and use the same systems.
Ever notice the delay from your “hello” to when they start talking? That’s because they’re using a crappy VOIP system and are not even connecting to the line until it’s confirmed to be answered by a person.
My rule for all 800 numbers is simple.
- if I get a call with no ID, I don’t answer.
- if they call back, I answer with a generic “hello”
- if I get no response within 2 seconds, I hang up.
- if they call again and it’s the same as the previous call, I block the number.
- if it’s important, a real human can pick up a real phone and dial my number. Or they can pick any one of a number of other ways to reach me.
Tis my 2 cents.
