Call Related Scams: Types, What to Look For, and What to do

This class of scams is generally perpetrated by organized or lone callers over the phone. Remember, this information is intended to inform you of possible scams. Please use your best judgement to determine if the scenario applies to you.

Call Forwarding Scam

Scammers pose as legitimate business reps including “bank” or other “service providers.” They'll ask you to dial *21 followed by a ten-digit number, which forwards your phone number to them. Doing so will enable fraudsters to make changes to your services or create new accounts with your information. Hang up and call the support numbers found on the company’s official website to confirm if they called you.

Number Spoofing

This common scam involves changing the phone number that appears on your call display to appear familiar or local. The intent is to hide the originating number from scrutiny (often overseas). 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. This is known as caller ID spoofing.

What you can do: Do not give out your personal information. No other action is required. Spoofed numbers are generated randomly by a computer, and no account was compromised. We still recommend reporting the call to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre so that it can be tracked.

Any legitimate businesses can have their numbers spoofed, so it's a good idea to not give out your personal information. Instead, call them back with a contact number found on their official website.

Vishing

A voice phishing attack using phone calls and recorded voice messages that leverage social engineering to convince you to reveal your private info. The objective is to convince you to give up personal information they can use for financial gain.

What you can do: never give out your personal information. You may feel pressured by psychological tactics targeting different aspects of your emotions but keep calm, don’t let your guard down and hang up.

Toll Fraud

You may get a call from an overseas number that rings once or twice. If you call back, you'll reach a premium-rate number with high charges.

What you can do: Don’t respond or call back. Report the call to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre with the date and time of the call, and phone number it originated from.

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.

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

If you believe you are a victim of fraud or worry that you may have been targeted, please report this activity to TELUS Customer Care. Dial 1-866-558-2273 or *611 from a TELUS handset

Your safety matters to us. Because scammers never stop, we're dedicated to providing you with information on the latest tactics used by them so that you can stay informed. For more on various scams and how to protect yourself, explore these other articles:

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Updated 5 months ago

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