Telstra's latest scam protection feature is now available to all Telstra network customers, providing real-time alerts that flag suspicious incoming phone calls.
Dubbed Telstra Scam Protect, the feature is available to all customers on the Telstra network, including those Telstra MVNO providers such as Boost Mobile, Belong, Tangerine, More, ALDI Mobile, Everyday Mobile, Exetel, and Superloop.
It's activated automatically and is available at no extra cost. When customers receive a potentially dodgy call, Telstra Scam Protect will display a warning message on their phone screen.
These messages come in a few varieties:
- Warning: Potential Fraud. Applies to calls that may be made from a spoof number (when a scammer makes a number look legitimate) or that have a suspicious calling pattern
- Unverified: Overseas Call. Applies to calls that look like they're coming from a local number but are detected to be coming from overseas
- Warning: Suspicious Calling Pattern. Applies to calls with a high volume of traffic from a single number, usually indicating spam
The latest ACCC Targeting Scams Report released this week shows Australians lost $2 billion to scammers in 2024. Phone scams account for the highest overall financial losses amongst all contact methods, with $107.2 million being reported to Scamwatch, lost by 2,179 victims.
Scamwatch's data indicated that phone scams are the method which tends to lead to higher individual losses.
Telstra already blocks more than 11 million calls on average per month, and Scam Protect will complement those efforts.
Telstra's own research shows that 42% of Australians who own a mobile device admit to being less likely to answer calls because they were concerned about being scammed.
With Telstra Scam Protect, the telco is aiming to prevent customers from missing legitimate calls by making it easier to avoid those which might be dodgy.
Since the telco soft-launched the feature in December, it has flagged over 10 million calls with a warning message.
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Dylan Crismale
Digital Content Editor
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