Four scams impacted customers need to watch out for

By admin On Sep 30, 2022

The almost 10 million Optus customers impacted by a major cyberhack are warned to stay on alert for a slew of new scams, with Scamwatch posting photos of four current hoaxes doing the rounds.

Scamwatch said scammers will contact telco customers “anyway they can” as fall-out from last week’s data breach continues.

“You will likely notice an increased number of phishing emails, phone calls, and SMS or social media messages,” the government agency said, before posting photos of four scams they’ve been alerted too.

If you have been an Optus customer anytime between 2017 and now, your details are most likely in the hands of the hacker. (Supplied)

In one text message an Optus customer is told the telco is issuing new simcards, and is urged to book delivery.

“Optus is not contacting people about issuing new sim cards. Delete these messages,” Scamwatch said.

Similarly, Scamwatch said if a victim receive correspondence purporting to be from the telco about “an issue” with a bill, it’s likely false.

Scamwatch shared these two separate examples of scams following the Optus cyberhack. Correspondence about sim cards should be deleted, and any correspondence about bill "issues" treated with a high level of caution. — Scamwatch shared these two separate examples of scams following the Optus cyberhack. Correspondence about sim cards should be deleted, and any correspondence about bill “issues” treated with a high level of caution. (Scamwatch)

“Optus is not contacting people about their bills and asking you to update your information,” it said.

The agency said they’ve also received reports of scammers pretending to be the hackers responsible for the data breach, which happened on the National Day of Mourning.

These two pieces of correspondence are also examples of scams circulating after the Optus hack. (Scamwatch)

“If you receive demands to pay money with a threat that your information will be released, delete the message,” it said.

“There is no financial restitution being sent to individuals caught in the data breach at this time,” Scamwatch said.

The data breach exposed personal data of millions of Australians, including:

Names
Date of births
Phone numbers
Email addresses,
Residential addresses, and
Identity document numbers such as driver’s licences, Medicare and passport numbers

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has questioned why the telco kept so much personal information on record.

Optus customers are advised to take a number of steps to protect their identity online. (Graphic: Channing Young)

The federal government wants to introduce laws to stop companies hoarding our personal information and they’ll face hefty fines if they misuse or don’t properly store that data.

In the meantime, Dreyfus urged all Optus customers to be vigilant.

“Do not click on any links in a text message,” he said.

“Check all website sources – just check that it is an official website before taking any future action.

“If you are unsure about why you are being asked to divulge private information, stop and verify who the person or organisation is that is making that request of you.”

Scamwatch said victims of the hack should also ”inform your bank and superannuation fund immediately”.

Optus has engaged the cybersecurity company IDCare to support customers with their data exposed.