Another Scam?

[Chris Parks]

I tried to ask Telstra this but they don't want to speak on the phone anymore and just disconnected the phone call. I received an email this morning and wondered if anyone else has received one. The reference numbers in the text mean nothing to me and do not appear on the last invoice which has been paid anyway. I found the email in my spam folder but without the usual Gmail alert for such things. The other missing detail is Telstra won't accept my CC for payment and it has to be done by direct payment so I guess they don't know that. I think it is a really good attempt though and they get some points for the presentation and formatting.

481408

[markharrison]

I would say you are probably right.

It would be interesting to see the raw source for the email along with the email headers.

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[Chris Parks]

Is this enough? If not how do I get more from a Gmail?



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from:
Support <info@vps38947.servconfig.com></info@vps38947.servconfig.com> via (https://support.google.com/mail/answer/1311182?hl=en-GB) spotlead.com


reply-to:
info@vps38947.servconfig.com


to:



date:
21 Sep 2020, 09:38


subject:
Telstra : invoice # INT 14437201922.


Signed by:
spotlead.com


security:
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[Chris Parks]

I would say you are probably right.

It would be interesting to see the raw source for the email along with the email headers.



Mark, I can send it to you if that helps. It seems such a good thing I bet a lot of people fall for it. I checked my bank statements and the last invoice before I was convinced it was a scam. There was an alert from Gmail which I did not read fully so I can't say I wasn't warned.

[markharrison]

Hi Chris,

I recommend removing your obviously real email address from that post...

If you click the "Show Original" (see below) you will get the original source along with the headers.

Probably best send this as a PM. There will be identifying information in there you don't want to share with the internet.
https://www.woodworkforums.com/blob:https://www.woodworkforums.com/a0ead241-9b8b-4a5d-88f4-5c5a758191a7

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[david.elliott]

For me the incorrect capitalisation would be a giveaway...
AND is seems like that title for Fiona is an old role she held.

"Fiona's current role as Head of Telstra Retail and Regional involves leading the Retail Store Network Nationally in Telstra Consumer and Small Business. Fiona’s former role was Executive Director of Global Contact Centres."

[ian]

Is this enough? If not how do I get more from a Gmail?



<tbody>
from:
Support <info@vps38947.servconfig.com></info@vps38947.servconfig.com> via (https://support.google.com/mail/answer/1311182?hl=en-GB) spotlead.com


reply-to:
info@vps38947.servconfig.com


to:



date:
21 Sep 2020, 09:38


subject:
Telstra : invoice # INT 14437201922 (tel:14437201922).


Signed by:
spotlead.com


security:
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif Standard encryption (TLS) Learn more (https://support.google.com/mail?hl=en-GB&p=tls)




</tbody>

Chris, it's definitely a scam email.
the reply address is not a Telstra email address
the signature is not a Telstra signature

I know you are too smart to click on the link.

[Simplicity]

That signature
And sign off look very odd.

Cheers Matt.

[markharrison]

For me the incorrect capitalisation would be a giveaway...
AND is seems like that title for Fiona is an old role she held.

"Fiona's current role as Head of Telstra Retail and Regional involves leading the Retail Store Network Nationally in Telstra Consumer and Small Business. Fiona’s former role was Executive Director of Global Contact Centres."

At Planet Marketing; that capitalisation would be considered normal.

The sort of thing I was looking for in the headers would be this sort of thing which showed the path the email took

Received: from unknown (HELO ipbavi.tcif.telstra.com.au) ([10.97.217.199]) by ipocvi.tcif.telstra.com.au with ESMTP; 11 Oct 2019 14:15:02 +1100
Received: from wsapp5584.srv.dir.telstra.com ([10.75.131.20])
by ipcavi.tcif.telstra.com.au with ESMTP; 11 Oct 2019 14:15:01 +1100
Received: from wsapp5873.srv.dir.telstra.com (10.75.11.109) by wsapp5584.srv.dir.telstra.com (10.75.131.20) with Microsoft SMTP Server (TLS) id 15.0.1395.4; Fri, 11 Oct 2019 14:14:54 +1100
Received: from wsmsg3754.srv.dir.telstra.com (172.49.40.198) by wsapp5873.srv.dir.telstra.com (10.75.11.109) with Microsoft SMTP Server (TLS) id 15.0.1395.4; Fri, 11 Oct 2019 14:14:53 +1100
Received: from localhost (10.117.205.21) by ties-smtp.in.telstra.com.au (172.49.40.198) with Microsoft SMTP Server id 8.3.485.1; Fri, 11 Oct 2019 14:14:42 +1100
From: <telstraemailbill_noreply7@online.telstra.com>
Reply-To: <telstraemailbill_noreply7@online.telstra.com>

They can be faked but the scammers rarely bother. This sample was from a real Telstra email.

The other giveaway is any links in the email. They will direct you to their fake website and will not end in (to use this example) telstra.com.


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[russ57]

from: Support via spotlead.com

reply-to: info@vps38947.servconfig.com

Alone is sufficient to spell
DANGER WILL ROBINSON
to coin a phrase..

See Scam Email (https://www.telstra.com.au/consumer-advice/scam-email)



-russ

[droog]

Similar ones have been sent for other ISP’s, I got one the other day supposedly for my ISP but not the email that they send account information to. Same error for payment.

Hover over the link on the page, don’t click it just hover your mouse over it, you will see the address that the link intends to take you too it won’t be telstra.com

Report it to Telstra as a phishing email.
Telstra - Help - Cyber Scams (https://www.telstra.com.au/help/contact-us/scams)

[elanjacobs]

Any real email will be addressed to you by name, NEVER "Dear Customer"

[Chris Parks]

These things are not much of a danger to those familiar with this stuff and most who have responded fall into that category but for everyone else it is easy to see how they get deceived and I posted this in an efort to alert those who fall into the latter category. Thanks to those who have responded they might be more alert and better educated on what not to do. Never click on a live link in any email is the best advice but it took me a few seconds to realise what was going on. What really annoys me is Testra don't want to talk to anyone on the phone if they can avoid it and if your call does not fall into their menu system they simply disconnect your call but that is a conversation for another day.

[ian]

What really annoys me is Testra don't want to talk to anyone on the phone if they can avoid it and if your call does not fall into their menu system they simply disconnect your call but that is a conversation for another day.
Telstra does want to know, it's just that the attempted scammer sent an email so Telstra wants you to report the incident on-line using
REPORT MISUSE OF SERVICE (https://service.telstra.com.au/customer/general/surveys/Report_misuse_of_service)

and you could also try the acma Online enquiries | ACMA (https://www.acma.gov.au/online-enquiries) -- the .gov.au is a fairly good assurance that the acma's website is sort of OK.
Note that I haven't done much more click on a few links on the ACMA's web site to get to the linked page




also note
Although Telstra's call centre may no longer be located off shore -- something I don't really know for sure -- the call center "operators" will not be trained in how to respond to scam or phishing emails. That's why Telstra's web site gives a link to their "report misuse of service" on-line form

[Chris Parks]

Telstra does want to know, it's just that the attempted scammer sent an email so Telstra wants you to report the incident on-line using
REPORT MISUSE OF SERVICE (https://service.telstra.com.au/customer/general/surveys/Report_misuse_of_service)

and you could also try the acma Online enquiries | ACMA (https://www.acma.gov.au/online-enquiries) -- the .gov.au is a fairly good assurance that the acma's website is sort of OK.
Note that I haven't done much more click on a few links on the ACMA's web site to get to the linked page




also note
Although Telstra's call centre may no longer be located off shore -- something I don't really know for sure -- the call center "operators" will not be trained in how to respond to scam or phishing emails. That's why Telstra's web site gives a link to their "report misuse of service" on-line form

Call me old fashioned but I want to talk to someone when I call a help desk phone number.

[ian]

Call me old fashioned
:whs:




:D

[ian]

What really annoys me is Testra don't want to talk to anyone on the phone if they can avoid it and if your call does not fall into their menu system they simply disconnect your call but that is a conversation for another day.

Call me old fashioned but I want to talk to someone when I call a help desk phone number.
look if you really want to "talk" to a real live body located in the Philippines or India or wherever Telstra currently locates their call centers, you can usually fool the call filter (aka the automated menu system) till you get through to a real "live" person.

You'll feel much better having gotten the issue off your chest, and the kid at the other end may not be too frustrated with you wasting their time.


The common metrics in a call center are:
1. the time to answer the call -- you should know the line by now "your call is really important to us, but we're experiencing a higher than normal call volume ..." i.e. we've deliberately staffed the call center with less people than is really required to save us $$$

2. time spent on the call -- again the usual preference is to minimise the time each call takes to resolve. This is the reason calls are filtered automatically in the first place.


The result is that calls to busy call centers are usually answered promptly and then the person calling just "accidentally" disconnects. It's not the call center operator's fault if the caller "gives up waiting" moments after connecting to them.






yes, when it comes to [un]help centers I'm pretty cynical

[AlexS]

While this one shows all the hallmarks of being a scam, which it is, anyone less aware who, like us, was expecting an overdue parcel from overseas could be expected to click on the link. When you check, it's from a gmail address.

481445

[Chris Parks]

look if you really want to "talk" to a real live body located in the Philippines or India or wherever Telstra currently locates their call centers, you can usually fool the call filter (aka the automated menu system) till you get through to a real "live" person.

You'll feel much better having gotten the issue off your chest, and the kid at the other end may not be too frustrated with you wasting their time.


The common metrics in a call center are:
1. the time to answer the call -- you should know the line by now "your call is really important to us, but we're experiencing a higher than normal call volume ..." i.e. we've deliberately staffed the call center with less people than is really required to save us $$$

2. time spent on the call -- again the usual preference is to minimise the time each call takes to resolve. This is the reason calls are filtered automatically in the first place.


The result is that calls to busy call centers are usually answered promptly and then the person calling just "accidentally" disconnects. It's not the call center operator's fault if the caller "gives up waiting" moments after connecting to them.






yes, when it comes to [un]help centers I'm pretty cynical

Telstra AFAIK have closed all their offshore call centres and now if you call they do their utmost to direct you to using their automatic menu system or online inquiry system. They asked me for a mobile number and when I did not give it to them as I rarely use it for calls and don't routinely carry it around or check for messages I think that giving them the number is a waste of their time and mine. If you don't give them your mobile number they simply disconnect the call but I have no idea what happens if you do give it to them. If they used the number to call me as they have done in the past I will possibly not get any call they make and in the past they have not left a message of a call back number.

It is not about getting it off my chest, it is that they have a call centre and the normal presumption of ringing a call centre is that you speak to someone. Don't have one if the intent is not to speak to anyone who calls the contact number they advise you to ring when you have a problem. I have always maintaned one phone call is better than 20 emails.

[Lappa]

When I want to speak to someone in Australia rather than India etc, I just ask to speak to someone in the resolution team. Optus, AGL etc - I always get an Aussie.
That is if you can actually get to speak with a live person somewhere in the world with those $&@#&* menu items that lead to nowhere. Classic example of menus to nowhere is the NBN - Unless you want to report damage to their equipment ( hint hint) :D

[forrestmount]

I found that using a swear word starting with f into the phone seems to get past all the menus and onto a person.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[Chris Parks]

Put me down as a grumpy old man but when you call Telstra it appears to be impossible to get to a real person no matter what language they speak because they simply don't have any options to do so.

[Pac man]

Put me down as a grumpy old man but when you call Telstra it appears to be impossible to get to a real person no matter what language they speak because they simply don't have any options to do so.

Begs the question why are you still with Telstra?

[ian]

Begs the question why are you still with Telstra?could be that where Chris lives, the other "service providers" only rent lines from Telstra

[Chesand]

I have just received the same email as Chris. It went to my Junk folder and I have reported it as spam and deleted it.

I don't pay them by credit card, so it was immediately suspicious to me.

[Chris Parks]

A thread dredge, we need a forum devoted to scam alerts! I received an email from Netflix which is strange because I handed the account over to Mrs P. a long time ago and she gets all the Netflix emails now. It asked me to complete the new account application that I had in progress with a big red icon to click on and if I did not want to receive any emails from Netflix I could click and unsubscribe. It had good syntax and grammar and really looked like the real thing. I wonder what happens when someone responds to this style of email?

[markharrison]

A thread dredge, we need a forum devoted to scam alerts! I received an email from Netflix which is strange because I handed the account over to Mrs P. a long time ago and she gets all the Netflix emails now. It asked me to complete the new account application that I had in progress with a big red icon to click on and if I did not want to receive any emails from Netflix I could click and unsubscribe. It had good syntax and grammar and really looked like the real thing. I wonder what happens when someone responds to this style of email?

I got one of those yesterday too.

I have my own domain name. Interestingly it was to an email address that was used to sign up to a JB Hi Fi mailing list that is not used for any other purpose.

After your response, I went back and had a closer look at the source of the email. I did not go to too much trouble but as far as I could tell in that five minutes, the links point to vaguely official looking Netflix URLs. I still would not click on them!