Known Scams and Fraud List

[psl]

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 but there can be some scenarios that are outside of our control: social engineers and fraudsters can find ways to trick those targeted into divulging their information.

Our hope is to educate and raise awareness to safeguard themselves against these attempts. Here is a list of known scams and fraud that has been flagged by our security team. Most are not unique to TELUS, so exercise the same caution with whichever brands they may identify themselves with. Please note, it is not inclusive of all scams currently in circulation, and variations are possible. If in doubt, please contact a TELUS representative.

If you believe you are a victim of fraud, please scroll to the bottom of the list for suggested next steps.

Known Scams	Details	Suggestions
International Call Replay	Some customers may report that when on an international call, they aren’t hearing live audio from the party they are speaking with. Instead, hear audio from earlier in the conversation.	We are still investigating. Please contact a TELUS representative with the following: Time of the call Origination number Destination number Who originated the call Description of your experience
Scams involving non-TELUS entities (such as Revenue Canada scam, Service Canada)	Customers receiving a perceived scam call involving a non-TELUS company or entity. Examples: - Canada Revenue Agency scam - Service Canada (scams and spoofing relating to COVID-19) In many cases, call recipients are being told that they have been reported to be in contact with a person confirmed to have COVID-19. The recipient is asked for their address and social insurance number.	Report any of these types of suspected scams to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) at 1-888-495-8501 TELUS takes the reduction of nuisance calls seriously. Note: You can learn more about scams, such as phishing on our website: telus.com/about/security.
Account Credit Scam (by email or phone)	Customers getting an email that appears to have been sent from TELUS. The email encouraged the customer to upgrade TV packages and to call a 1-8XX number in order to do so. Once the customer dials the 1-8XX number, they reach a fake IVR, pretending to be TELUS, and mentions they have a large credit balance owed to them (often around $900.00). They are then transferred to a fake TELUS agent, who then gathers their personal information to supply them with the "money".	Do not provide any personal information.  No further action is needed
Vacation Scam (phone)	Vacation scam calls to BC and Alberta residents. When someone picks up the scam call, a recorded voice thanks them for choosing TELUS and offers them a free vacation for being a good customer. If customers stay on the line, it connects them to a person who will try to convince you to give them personal information or send money as a down payment on fees for the vacation.	Do not give out any personal information and simply hang up. Note: Legitimate telemarketers will always know your name and will always provide you with a number for you to call them back at your convenience. The scam has already been identified and TELUS is working to have the numbers blocked.
Pop-up on websites	Customers may see a pop-up when browsing online or via social media advising that as a TELUS customer they are eligible to take a survey and/or win a prize.	Close window and ignore. These types of contests are not standard TELUS practices. See TELUS website for information on phishing: https://www.telus.com/en/ab/support/article/identity-theft-fraud
Posing as TELUS support advising of internet/computer problems	Fraudster poses as TELUS support advising customers has a virus/computer problem attempting to gain personal information.	Do not give any details to the fraudster or allow them access to your computer. If you think your computer may have been compromised, please contact TELUS technical support to discuss any concerns.
Door to Door salesperson posing as a TELUS employee	Door to door salesperson may be pretending to be a TELUS employee	Verify the name and ID of the salesperson. Do not give out any information if anything seems suspicious, and contact a TELUS representative with the following: date/time/address of the visit name of the salesperson
Fraudulent Call asking to confirm Wireless Number and PIN	Customers receiving calls with an automated message asking a message similar to Is XXX-XXX-XXXX your number, if so, press 1, then please enter your PIN Sometimes they are offering free credits. The fraudster is spoofing different numbers and could appear as an 1800 number. The fraudster is then adding additional subscribers to the account for fraudulent purposes.	Do not give out any personal information and simply hang up. The scam has already been identified and we are working to have the numbers blocked.
Fraudulent text messages being sent to TELUS customers	Social Engineers sending text messages to customers stating they will receive a credit to their account with a link to redeem the offer. The link then takes them to one of the following fraudulent sites requesting portal login info: www.telusbonus.homestead.com  (Do not visit)    or www.telus50rewards.com  (Do not visit)  Using the portal login information obtained, Social Engineers access the customer’s self-serve portal and swap the customer's handset to place fraudulent roaming calls.	Do not access the link or log in. Forward the spam to TELUS using shortcode 7726 with the word SPAM in the body of the message. or Contact TELUS Mobility technical support to report the incident, by dialing 1-866-558-2273 or *611 from your device.
e.Bill Fraud (email)	TELUS customers receive an authentic-looking email claiming there is an issue with their e.bill and asking them to log in to verify payment information. This email is a fraud. The email falsely states TELUS has sent the email because the last payment has been declined and that TELUS is unable to process the payment. If the billing information is not updated, TELUS services will be interrupted. The email asks users to click on the “Log in now” link and provide account information including name, password, and banking information.	Do not give out personal information. Forward the phishing email with the headers to abuse@telus.com Delete the email. Note: TELUS will never send an email asking our customers to verify personal information. For more information on email and phone fraud, please visit: https://www.telus.com/support/article/identity-theft-fraud
Social engineers offering free features/services or TELUS Dollars	Social Engineers are calling TELUS customers from spoofed numbers, which can include 1800 toll-free numbers, and offer things like a promotional rate plan, a month of free service or TELUS Dollars, and request for personal information (address, DOB, email, the phone number, PIN, DL or SIN) to apply for the promotion. Note: The script they use or what they offer customers is not always the same.	Do not provide any personal information. No further action needed.
Toll Fraud	The customer receives a call from an overseas number that will ring only once or twice, so the number appears on Caller ID. When the customer calls back they reach premium-rate telephone numbers that charge high rates to the caller, on top of their usual overseas long-distance charges.	Do not respond, and more importantly, to avoid charges - do not call back  Report to Canadian Anti Fraud Centre
Number Spoofing	Fraudsters spoofing the phone numbers of TELUS customers. Spoofing allows the fraudster to make their own number appears as a local number, to increase the chance of the receiving party to answer the phone.	No action required. TELUS is aware that our customers did not place these phone calls. The number is picked at random, and accounts are not compromised.  You can report to Canadian Anti Fraud Centre

Last updated: Nov 24th, 2020

If you believe you were a victim of fraud and gave out the following information, here is what to do: 

SIN or Driver's Licence	You should call TransUnion (1-800-663-9980) and Equifax (1-800-465-7166) to create a warning in their Credit Bureau as soon as possible. TransUnion and Equifax are credit agencies that manage Canadians’ credit history. You have to call both credit agencies to make the warning effective. With the warning in the Credit Bureau, you will be contacted if someone uses your IDs to request services or credit under your name.
Credit card information	You should call your financial institution to inform them about the issue as soon as possible.
TELUS account PIN	Contact a TELUS representative by phone to reset the PIN
TELUS portal login details	Contact a TELUS representative by phone to reset credentials

[arnoldcg]

The pathetic customer serve offered by Telus is a huge scam.