Forum Discussion
Fake or Not Fake Telus Calls
I'm starting to get a bit irate with Telus telephone calls.
Most of them start with a 403 number which I assume are the fake ones. Each call has some kind of V reference on them, several characters long, on the caller ID.
There are those that start with an 833 number which may or may not be a fake number.
This is how an 833 call went today:
Me: "Hello"
[dead air for about 20 seconds - obviously using some call center application the dials multiple numbers to see which ones pick up - painfully annoying].
Alleged Telus: "Hello Sir, I am calling from Telus"
Me: "How do I know you are from Telus"
Alleged Telus: "I can share your email with you"
Me: "Go ahead"
Alleged Telus [failing to provide email address]: "I am calling your about the Home Security option"
Me: "I have spoken to Telus about this before and my answer is the same today as it was then".
Alleged Telus: "Ok" hangs up on the call.
These are the options regarding this scenario:
- Stop calling me
- If you want to call me please ensure agents are prepped to provide evidence to prove they are really from Telus
- I will no longer answer my phone when Telus calls.
I don't want myself or the Telus agent to have a bad experience during these calls so what is the best way forward with this?
12 Replies
Expecting a call from Telus today I was texted a message that asked that these 3 Telus numbers not be on the blocked list.
1-866-558-2273, 1-888-811-2323, 1-855-255-8828
1-888-811-2323 called & lasted 2 hours and 32 minutes
I got two cold calls within hours, like a redial but a different voice.
I will not engage with a cold calling person.
A company doesn't think its a cold call if you are doing business with them, they think they have the right to call you, in many of our cases up to 3 times a day.
Block them.
Every Telus call is a scam, however I would like to know how they know my name which is associated with the phone number.
If Telus wants me to believe it is not a scam, all the caller has to say is log into your account and see the deal Telus wants you to know about.
Bad actors can buy lists from various sources. They do it for Rogers as well as Telus. More people that report these numbers to the Do Not Call Register the more likely something will be done about them.
Telus emails us offers. We can see them on the website or app. I can live with the odd telephone call if they are doing a needs assessment and recommending a tailored service to us. 1-2 telephone calls a day, real or scam, just puts me off the company completely; they are a telecommunications company and I expect them to be subject matter experts in stopping scam calls getting through to customers.
I get the same calls, and I am pretty certain if they are scammers. I know its hard to tell since everyone I've talked to at telus seems to be either inexperienced or just plain inept.
I got another call today. Same routine. 1) Answer phone, 2) dead air for 20 seconds (I call them heavy breather calls), 3) agent connects & tells me they have an add-on they want to give me for free, 4) I ask them to verify they are really calling from Telus, 5) they hang up. 🙄
I have no choice but to report every number that calls to the Do Not Call Register. I have to assume every Telus call is a scam unless there its prearranged ie contract, maintenance etc.
TELUS_SupportOfficial Support Team
Hey Steve! We hear you about those calls. We'll send a PM your way to help update your contact preferences and stop those marketing calls.
Thanks for your PM, however, there is no option to reply to it. I tried in 4 different browsers.
We are in the year 2025 where we are all bombarded with bad actors trying to steal our identity from us. Within my workflow, no matter which company is reaching out to me, they have to prove who they say they are, just like when I am calling a company they need to validate who I am. For example, I refuse my voice to be "recorded" if on the outset a company cannot prove who they are, I do not know whether a bad actor might be using AI to replicate my voice. Caller IDs can be faked, even if it says "Telus" there is a chance that it isn't.
The Telus marketing calls appear to be quite creepy where there is a delay between me picking up the phone and an agent speaking. It's what bad actors do.
Rather than coming off marketing call list what I am aiming to achieve from this query is what Telus is doing to include a "prove who we are" in the workflow.
- TELUS_Support
We totally get your concerns about call security. We'll pass your thoughts on call verification to our team. We can send another PM your way to discuss this further if you'd like.
