Telstra customers warned about email scam

Telstra customers are being urged to watch out for a highly sophisticated email scam, which tricks them into supplying their credit card details.

It is the latest in a string of hoax emails using reputable brands to steal personal information.

Mark Disher received one of the hoax emails, which linked to the Telstra website and advertised services.

“It also had the actual Telstra hotline number on it,” he told 7News.

“It had all the elements you would find in a Telstra email."

He is just one of thousands of people who have received the email, telling them their Bigpond account is overdue.

“It linked to a direct debit site which looked incredibly convincing… it was only the account number that made me suspicious,” Mr Disher said.

His suspicions were soon realised when he was asked to enter credit card details and open an attachment.

“I’ve since found out that the attachment was a Trojan, a virus,” Mr Disher said.

Telstra says it will never ask customers for confidential details via email. It is urging people not to click on any links and to delete the email immediately.

Michael Schaper from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said scammers were using big name brands to trick customers.

“When people get a message from Telstra, they are inclined to think that there’s a good chance it is real,” he said.

He said people should be alert for scammers operating online.

“Treat it with a degree of cynicism – it you’re not sure about it, delete it or verify it,” he said.

Last month it was an airline scam doing the rounds, with fraudsters sending official-looking emails claiming to be from Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin, while NAB customers have also previously been targeted.