Is this Telus or scammers

[Raceface]

I received a text from 777222 today which reads this

Hi it's TELUS. We have detected that your modem is nearing the end of its life, and would like to offer you a replacement so that you can get the best internet experience.
Please reply ACCEPT, DECLINE or MORE for more information.
Msg rates may apply.

Seems suspect.

[dru]

777222 is a legitmate short code used by our appointment manager. We are also running a proactive assurance campaign that covers hardware. When in doubt, please give us a call and outbound contact notes should be stamped into your account 🙂

Home service customer care: 1-888-811-2323

[xray]

How does the public know that 777222 is a legitimate TELUS short code?

Can short codes be spoofed like regular phone numbers?

It seems using this method for contacting customers is training customers to fall for phishing scams. I'm not a fan of this practice. All accounts have an email contact. Why can't the appointments be set up via email which is much easier for customers to verify the source?

[dru]

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@xray wrote:

How does the public know that 777222 is a legitimate TELUS short code?

Can short codes be spoofed like regular phone numbers?

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Good point. I'm not sure if short codes can be spoofed but I can never rule it out completely. It's always good practice to not volunteer information born out of a cold correspondence and always contact the sender from support numbers found on their official website. 

[Nighthawk]

Definitely seems weird. I wouldn't reply to it. Out of curiosity, which Telus modem/gateway do you have?

[Raceface]

Its a T3200M, we have had it for a while, I wonder what the newer model is.

[Nighthawk]

Really? I have a T3200 also. For my needs and my fibre connection, it works very well. I know there are newer devices for fibre like the Telus Wifi Hub and the new NH20A which uses the Boost 2.0 units for wifi. I was not previously aware Telus was proactively replacing T3200s.

[Firstimehuman]

Chiming in. I got the notification via email, and said yes to the new hardware. I just got it a few days ago, and it's actually the same modem model I have now - T3200M.

Something probably went wrong on Telus' end. I don't see any need to replace my and (OP's) modem with the exact same model.

[Nighthawk]

It's entirely possible that the old T3200 was malfunctioning and Telus proactively offered a replacement before the old one got worse.

[liamv]

I also got my new T3200M several days ago. Actually, I haven't found any difference between the two T3200M.
Do we have to return the old one?

[inund8]

@dru I received a similar text message, but it was saying I had a service appointment, but I have not been a telus customer in over 5 years, and have moved several times since I last had a telus account. Is it possible someone has stolen my identity and reopened my account?

[Dimo-X]

Hi Inund8, it would be difficult to say without being able to dig further, but it is possible. Might be best to leverage some of the contacts at https://bit.ly/2XtuvVF 

[Just_LH]

I will also add my 2c .

I have a T3200 with 25Mbps and no problem, can't see what could be better. 

Also, using this type of communication is bad.

Spammers use this sending a text message that need a reply so I tell all (but old people) never reply to them.

Even I can't tell who it came from unless I search for it.

Sending me a text to check my account because there is an offer there would be ok, but the biggest telecom has not figured it out how to have message system inside the account. Even email is better as I can check what is happening on computer better. Phone is a bit of a black box to us older folks.

[Dimo-X]

That's definitely sound advice. I know I had to coach my folks in similar fashion when it came to messages or communications that seemed suspect. In these types of circumstances it's definitely better to play it safe and call the Home service customer care: 1-888-811-2323 to verify the communication and whether it applies to said individual's account.