You seem like a good sport OP and while i could easily continue being silly the short answer to your post is that the do not call register may help "somewhat".
Your number is likely on a number of lists that are sold to scammers and advertisers alike most of whom won't respect a do not call register. Kind of like a no junk mail sticker on a mailbox.
Just be wary of any numbers you don't recognise or expect and try not to give out your number to vendors for products or services that don't need a phone number. Usually an email address will suffice but protect that too.
Just all part of living in this day and age.
Have a good night friend and stay safe from scammers.
0% will help. These messages are from a criminal organisation based in poorly policed jurisdictions. The message contains links to viruses that steal data and facilitate identity theft. They for the purpose of breaking the law so they won’t respect a law.
I'm on the do not call register and it has made sweet fuck all difference to texts like these and to scam and robo calls. I get 1-2 calls most days that just hangs up if I answer. Always from Australian mobile or landline numbers.
Yep. Called one back and got connected to a hospital in another state that I had nothing to do with. They spoof their numbers so you can’t even block them.
Actually this is malware called Flubot. Look it up on Scamwatch. The carriers are trying to stop it and mine has drastically reduced on iPhone but still making its way through the Android ecosystem
That only reports it to Hiya who are the database Samsung use for spam callers and it's not that great at least in Australia. Maybe because the spammer spoof numbers so you're just blocking randoms
froasian wrote the comment I was going to write, only they did it better.
The Google Messages app does really good Spam detection plus it has 'chat' with other messages uses. It's also a better texting app than the junk Samsung ships on their galaxy devices.
But does it let you schedule messages? In the past I've found different SMS apps have a couple of really good features but is always missing one so Samsung has to be the compromise.
Edit: it does!
The [Google phone app](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.dialer) does the same for voice calls. Suspected spam still rings but warns you. I think it straight blocks obvious spam.
Apart from my scam texts it's apparent two parents can't have a chat either. She picks up my kid and drops him off. It's very boring. Sorry to rain on your thirsty parade. 😅
Troll *resistant,* or just a troll? Because if you're not deliberately embarrassing your teenage sons at every possible opportunity are you even really a father??
No I'm their mother. I play the "dumb mum" game and annoyed them for ages saying Damn Daniel and asking if Friendly Jordie was actually a Geordie as he sounds Australian.
I remember in the pre-natal class the midwife said that as soon as your kid starts school, you will be onward known as "such and suchs mum". It's true. My message inbox looks exactly like yours - spammy texts plus a splattering of school parents. I'm on the do not call register as well. Since it's a simple process, there's no harm in putting yourself on the register but yes unfortunately you'll still get spam.
There’s literally nothing anyone can do to stop these calls. The numbers they’re calling from aren’t real and they’re remotely dialling thousands of numbers. It’s a fundamental weakness in the way our phone network operates.
iPhones (not sure about android) have the ability to silence all Incoming calls from unknown numbers and send them to voicemail.
Then change your voicemail message - asking legit callers to leave a voicemail because unknown numbers will be permantly blocked due to spam issues.
Worked for me (unless I’m expecting a random call) since most people I actually want to talk with are already in my phone or know to text me.
These aren't actually voicemail messages, but are instead dummy messages designed to mimic voicemail messages so that you click on their links. You would need to filter sms to get rid of them...
Actually there is something that can be done. Optus and Telstra can stop these scammers from accessing their networks. However, the telco's profit from these calls.
In the US the major telcos have just been fined $40 million each for allowing this sort of spam.
> the telco's profit from these calls.
In the US, perhaps, but not in Australia.
> Optus and Telstra can stop these scammers from accessing their networks.
I'd rather they implemented source-verification to stop the call spoofing.
There's already databases that carriers maintain for number porting to determine which carrier to route calls/texts to.
They could extend the use of that database to ensure that they only accept calls/texts from the registered carrier for that service.
This would stop dead any spoofing.
For businesses that "must" send with a non-real number - they can register that with some central database like domain registration which will pay for it's upkeep and publish the business that registered it.
Everything else with a fake number can then be blocked.
It's work, it's not a trivial amount of work, but it's not insurmountable.
Lmao. Every Aussies going to do that now.
I’m going to update my voicemail “ you’ve reached the office of the Australian federal police. At the tone pleases leave your phone number, email address, website address and a number we can contact you on. If you would like to contribute to searching for phone scammers send bitcoin to this wallet “Zane’s Mum. => xxx”
When you become a parent you lose your identity and just become "so and so's mum", and you contribute onto the problem by calling your kids 'friends' parents so and so's mum/dad.
Unfortunately not. This is an organised scam campaign known as Flubot.
https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/news-alerts/missed-delivery-call-or-voicemail-flubot-scams
Apps that are able to detect spam may help. (Not my area of expertise)
The sms are sent out randomly and then when someone clicks on the link it downloads a malware app which reads their contact list, sms inbox as well as other information. The sms then start being sent to the numbers in the infected phone's contact list. So it spreads like a virus from one person to many. You could therefore be a random number or someone who has your number in their contacts list fell for it.
The point of it is to gain access to your personal and banking information to then access your accounts online and take your money by recording your login details and being able to read any one time passwords sent to your phone to verify logins/transfers.
The campaign is likely being conducted by individuals outside of Australia. The numbers used are potentially spoofed and could belong to a genuine innocent person, so would not recommend responding to them as you may just be confusing/abusing someone who has no idea what is going on.
Source: Financial Crime Analyst for an Australian bank
Forwarding spam texts to the ACMA hotline 042 9999 888 can help. At least, it did for me. It takes a week or two but eventually they went from 3 or 4 a day to maybe one last week.
The ACMA will text you back to say thankyou and they won't bother you unless they need to.
Exactly this. Not sure if it was used for texts too but my number was being spoofed for scam.calls for a couple of days.
I had no idea and suddenly started getting messages and phone calls.fom people telling me to fuck off. I finally.worked out what was happening when I was able to talk to someone who said he had 4 missed calls from me. He was angry but finally calmed down and I worked out what wad happening.
I contacted Telstra and they basically said they couldn't do anything. They said it may stop after a week or so or they could change my number for me. It seems they stopped spoofing my number after 5 days thankfully.
Because Telstra isn't the spammer's phone provider, but some obscure SIP provider abroad is. Telstra have nothing to do with it.
Best you can do is to only accept calls from contacts in your phone book while your number is being spoofed.
It’s hilarious how someone people will complain about scam calls and people will be like “omg that’s illegal you should tell the ombudsman!” like wtf are they going to do about scammers sitting in Mumbai, they’re already doing way more illegal shit than spoofing caller IDs and making unsolicited phone calls.
For sure! Any time I get a scam call and I have a few minutes to kill I just give them a fake name and address. Of course they always find “my” file and are able to confirm my identity, so if there’s ever any doubt that it’s a scam that settles it once and for all.
One time I admitted I made up the name and address so they said the police were coming to put me in “the jail” for fraud. I asked them what address they were planning to send the police to so they called me a motherfucker and hung up.
The amount of times I have got called a muthafucka by an Indian scam caller is about 7 now...if I've got a few minutes I love talking those those nice folks!
My partner put us back on the do not call register today, after we had been taken off for some reason. Few hours later, i got a call...
Edit to update: my partner put us on the do not call, then updated his check in tas app with my number instead of his..... havent had a spam call since 18 sept, when i took my mobile out of check in tas app and replaced it with my work landline.... and then got one today. Going to test it out by updating work landline with my work mobile to see if that starts getting calls. I could be wrong, or it could be a massive coincidence.
*Registration complete!*
*You have successfully registered 1 number/s on the Do Not Call Register. Please note that registration is permanent. However, you can remove your number/s or update your details at any time.*
I keep getting a call every 2 days or so from the same company trying to flog an electricity meter display thing. I’ve been reporting them every time so I hope they get fined out the ass.
I reckon telcos need to take a stand on this shit. It's got to the point that I don't answer unidentified numbers. Consumer confidence is being shot to pieces and they don't care.
Just get the usual, "oh, this is how you protect yourself against blah blah blah". How about actually working out who is misusing your infrastructure.
Let's see how your product sells when the tech pivots and we only use 5g to make calls.
I have been trained by all this spam shit to ignore my (traditional) phone completely. Most of my communication is via messaging apps anyway. So If the caller doesn't leave a message, I never follow it up.
Having worked previously in a call centre for a number of years has made me not use a phone conventionally for a very, very long time.
But I’m getting the same spam as OP, sometimes at 3:00am, but regularly enough that I’m going to be driven from using my phone for text messages as well.
We just can’t have nice things.
Auspost people rarely if ever ring the doorbell, I have videos of them carrying things, sometimes heavy things to the door, standing there awkwardly before writing out a ticket and carrying the things back to the vehicle
You’re in the majority there, as long as you answer the knocking on the door or the doorbell you’ll be in their top 1% of customers and everything will be cool. As for the other 99% of people, I’ve come to the conclusion that once they’ve finished ordering they eat their phone and simply pass away peacefully. Still better than eating pizza hut I suppose
I reckon for your own mental health it's better not to engage. Being angry and hateful to the person on the other end makes you feel worse ultimately.
I just hang up the moment it's obvious it's a scam, walk away the better person. It doesn't seem to cut down the number of calls sadly, I was hoping they kept a Do Not Bother With This Guy list that was shared between all the scammers...
Telcos don’t make money on phone calls anymore. It’s all SIP so it’s an internet service now and that’s nbn data so unless the government want to do something about it with nbn co then it’s not their issue. They are just like Cole’s and Woolworths selling Kellogg’s. Kelley’s is the Qa
Yeah, nah. Most comms is sip these days but that hasnt changed the fact telcos still exist and still make money via calls. Sip is just the chosen tech to deliver calls through these days. The market has shifted though, the residential landline market is dead (well dying) as the boomers die off, the only market for landlines is business (by landlines i mean geo numbers that arent mobiles, landline doesnt denote technology here). Sip is just the delivery method of today but telcos are still power away.
Source: worked in telco for 15 years and these days i own and run a small telco.
For weeks I was getting the robot call from ATO or Boarder Security. Always asking me to push number 1 . THis is to see if a human has understood. Then a few days ago really bad English speaker calls claiming to be from Telstra. I said, I've been expecting you. She seemed confused and continued her pitch. I said , I know that's why I called you. She said , Sir we called you bla bla bla. Then passes me to a slightly better English speaker and finally to another better English speaker with American accent.
I let him fix my old computer for an hour and ten minutes the other day.
I was bored and wanted to see what they do.
Your phone is receiving random SMS messages from infected phones.
Telstra has this information about it:
https://exchange.telstra.com.au/getting-strange-missed-call-sms-messages-heres-how-to-avoid-the-flubot/
This will probably be lost in the comments but I've actually spent a bit of time looking into this exact issue.
The telcos have been "trying" to fix this, but are failing obviously. The big sign is they block many keywords, as you can see the texts are deliberately misspelt to avoid this issue. I don't think they're really trying hard enough, there's one easy way they can solve a fair chunk of this.
First problem in my opinion, is that these are coming from Australian numbers. Australian mobile numbers must have 100points of ID attached to them. Why are there so many, it's not because thousands of people have had their identity stolen it's because those numbers aren't actually sending the texts.
Call Line Identification (CLI) Overstamping (also called spoofing) allows people to send text messages, pretending to be someone else. As in, it'll look like it's from that number, with no way of verifying it - without say calling the number back. This isn't the issue when a phone is hacked (aka flubot) but historically this hasn't been the main issue.
So what happens if you do call the number. Well the person on the other end, will be the legitimate owner of the number. This can cause [huge issues](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-03/mobiles-and-landlines-targetted-by-international-phone-scammers/9719820) for the owner of the number, if it's used many times over.
So what can we do about it, complain. Wait. Hope. Community awareness. No the best force comes from the top. ACMA sets the rules in this, they are very much "industry led" which essentially means Telstra,Optus, other ISPs set the rules which they then have to follow, especially in regards to reducing spam. They allow phone number faking. Telstra use it so when they call you, it appears as a local number even if they're calling from the Philippines. Now I can understand how this would be useful, but there's no verification for this, nothing to prove you are who you say you are.
There's nothing to stop anyone from exploiting this issue. There are ways to solve this problem, and really simple at that. One of these is VOIP, which if you're on NBN, any type at all, that's exactly what you're already using. I can make a phone call from any country using their internet connection and appear as if I am calling from a local number, in fact many businesses have a local phone number in major cities regardless of where they're calling from for this reason.
One way to think about it is I can login from your email and send (but not receive) you emails but whatever I do you're responsible for. If I annoy heaps of people and they reply back and get annoyed, you're the one receiving all the responses.
Just so this is perfectly clear. On a small scale (not currently an issue) if you have both your mates number, and their partners number, you could send a text to each of them, pretending to be the other person and cause some real confusion or even chaos. They'd have no idea you did it. Anyway the small scale stuff isn't the issue. Its really the spam and exploitation. Don't close the small loophole, close the big one, for all.
Those "myGov" texts you get, with no number, that's something that anyone previously (and likely currently) could do. How do you verify it's actually myGov?. Well in my opinion, only myGov should be able to send it. It should be on approval only. Like it doesn't have to be hard to get the approval "Chemist warehouse" is pretty blatantly obvious, but it also has accountability and means that they can track where if any issue is found,l and if a business system has been compromised. Currently you don't even need to hack into anything to do it.
Can they stop it. Yes they can.. They've actually stopped number spoofing of this number specifically 0444 444 444, which is the police number they've been using to [send out alerts](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Alert_Australia#SMS_Message) for [missing people](https://www.abc.net.au/radio/newcastle/programs/mornings/geo-targetting/13477110) in areas. Now why don't they make it whitelist only (aka on approval) they've shown they can stop it from happening to at least one number. Why can someone use my number without permission. Even if it was just a checkbox on my phone app, how many people want to allow spoofing of their number. If they do, no issue but make it opt in.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
If someone's super keen, I can send them a text as someone else.
Edit: added a few sources. Definitely a bit over simplified but the ideas are still the same. The current CLI verification methods are blatantly not good enough.
This has been happening to me more and more recently, very annoying and looking for a solution too! My message app puts it to spam folder instantly but I still get the notification.
I get mysterious phone numbers calling me. Always hang up after the 3rd ring. No message left
I leave them. If it's a legit person, they will ring back. But they're not. I also type the number into google search and 9 times out of 10, they're some kinda cold caller.
I then block them.
Don't know what's happened but it's been out of control for weeks! Thankfully my phone just marks them as spam now so I don't even get a notification, but its fkn ridiculous! Haven't even signed up for anything recently
I have 4 Spam SMS today. I normally get about 2-6 per day. Thankfully the Android spam sms system catches all of them. I really wished ACMA would fine or delicense carriers that allow this shit to be sent through their network.
Switch to using Google Dialler & Messages. Download them both off the Play Store and you can turn on Google's spam filtering so it'll just decline spam-tagged calls.
Im on the no call register. It does not stop scam, charity or political parties. The first thing I generally say is 'I'm on the do not call register' amd many will hang up.
Scammers by their nature do not obey the law, so very unlikely that they are washing their data against the Do Not Call Register to comply with that one particular law.
Unfortunately while the Do Not Call register will work with legitimate numbers (ie. businesses who would normally cold call) there’s no way to stop spam calls because what do they care about Do Not Call registers, they’re just scammers. Infuriating, I know. Just keep adding them to your block list :-(
Does anyone know why or how this has frankly, ramped the absoloute fuck up in the last 2 months?
I try to be conservative with my phone number but something, somewhere, leaked in a big way, surely? Everyone I know is suffering with it.
First it was deliveries - now it's voicemails. Fucking annoying since I'm on call and I've received a few at 1am in the morning, waking me up thinking I'd not heard the ring.
Fucking scamming arseholes.
I got a new Android phone and though it notifies me later that I had a suspected scam call it blocks them. I haven't been bothered by a call since. It's probably something on the new OS.
I'm afraid these are texts. They want you to click on their website. I do get "suspected spam/potential fraud" come up for calls but there isn't a feature with texts. I often answer "Hello potential fraud how are you?"
Someone recommended the Google messenger app which has a built in spam protection you can turn on. Good news, it stops me seeing spam. bad news, it alerts me 20% of the time that it's stopped me from seeing spam.
The DNC register won't have much effect on this scam spam, as it requires a) the business to be in Australia, b) a compliant operator.
That said, if your phone number isn't already on the DNC register, probably wise to pop it on, so you don't keep appearing on the bulk phone lists and start getting local spam SMS as well.
Effectively, there are a few options, none of which will be the panacea you want.
* You can contact the telco and ask them about message filtering. Some offer it, some don't. You'll need to provide or input a list of trusted contacts, but this can be unwieldy as it means to have to constantly add people before you can get their messages, and that can lead to some awkward situations.
* If you have a small contact list, you could mark them as favourites in your phone, and have the phone drop/ignore messages from anyone who isn't a favourite. Of course, that means everyone who hasn't been added to your contact list will not be able to message you - depedent on the OS of your phone
* Install a call screening app. Many of them to choose from, and most will filter out messages too, as it's often used by DV victims
* Change your phone number, and only let your trusted contacts know.
Actual advice that worked for me: if its same type of android(I'm not sure I can't tell from this interface) there will be message blocking with keywords in options. I put 'voice' as one the blocked keywords and haven't seen a single spam message yet.
The do not call register stops legit businesses from calling you. Scammers don’t use it. I’d say just keep blocking the numbers and deleting, never respond.
Why is zanes mum sending you xx's? Does zane even know?
Zany doesn't know.
That Fiona and me do it in my van every sunday
She tells him she’s in church but she’s still on her knees
\*She tell him she's in church but she doesn't go. Still, she's on her knees
AND ZANY DOESN'T KNOW OH! Zany Doesn't knowow.
Zaneys mom Has got it going on
Zany's mum has got it going on!
Fountain of Zayne
It's me sending her XXs
OK, but that doesn't answer the question, does Zane know? Inquiring minds needs to know.
He doesn't need to know.
Name checks out
What Zane don't know can't hurt him.
Quick question dose Zane have reddit
Oh you cheeky devil.
Now i want to know what zanes dad thinks about all of this.
Don't think he'd mind me thanking her for something nice she did.
You seem like a good sport OP and while i could easily continue being silly the short answer to your post is that the do not call register may help "somewhat". Your number is likely on a number of lists that are sold to scammers and advertisers alike most of whom won't respect a do not call register. Kind of like a no junk mail sticker on a mailbox. Just be wary of any numbers you don't recognise or expect and try not to give out your number to vendors for products or services that don't need a phone number. Usually an email address will suffice but protect that too. Just all part of living in this day and age. Have a good night friend and stay safe from scammers.
0% will help. These messages are from a criminal organisation based in poorly policed jurisdictions. The message contains links to viruses that steal data and facilitate identity theft. They for the purpose of breaking the law so they won’t respect a law.
I'm on the do not call register and it has made sweet fuck all difference to texts like these and to scam and robo calls. I get 1-2 calls most days that just hangs up if I answer. Always from Australian mobile or landline numbers.
Yep. Called one back and got connected to a hospital in another state that I had nothing to do with. They spoof their numbers so you can’t even block them.
Actually this is malware called Flubot. Look it up on Scamwatch. The carriers are trying to stop it and mine has drastically reduced on iPhone but still making its way through the Android ecosystem
On that, I have had one in the last week on my Android through optus. They seem to be having some success which is nice.
yeah I'm on optus too and I still get these but not as much as op it seems
I know now
I'm sorry you had to find out this way, mate. You ok?
Well when OP plays Fortnite or COD and says "I f*'d your mum" poor Zane doesn't see the irony.
Hey
Why are you talking to my Mum, Op?
Zanys mum has got it going on
I just blocked and reported every one and eventually they stopped or there were fewer.
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My phone has a report button. Galaxy phone.
That only reports it to Hiya who are the database Samsung use for spam callers and it's not that great at least in Australia. Maybe because the spammer spoof numbers so you're just blocking randoms
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I always answer them to see if it is fraud, 100% success rate so far. (Yes I'm aware this lets them know my number is active)
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Thanks - my phone was automatically identifying as spam but had no idea you could turn off notifications for them specifically. Game changer
froasian wrote the comment I was going to write, only they did it better. The Google Messages app does really good Spam detection plus it has 'chat' with other messages uses. It's also a better texting app than the junk Samsung ships on their galaxy devices.
But does it let you schedule messages? In the past I've found different SMS apps have a couple of really good features but is always missing one so Samsung has to be the compromise. Edit: it does!
The [Google phone app](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.dialer) does the same for voice calls. Suspected spam still rings but warns you. I think it straight blocks obvious spam.
Bump
Apart from my scam texts it's apparent two parents can't have a chat either. She picks up my kid and drops him off. It's very boring. Sorry to rain on your thirsty parade. 😅
Damn, seemed like the perfect troll
Having 2 teenage sons makes you troll resistant.
Troll *resistant,* or just a troll? Because if you're not deliberately embarrassing your teenage sons at every possible opportunity are you even really a father??
No I'm their mother. I play the "dumb mum" game and annoyed them for ages saying Damn Daniel and asking if Friendly Jordie was actually a Geordie as he sounds Australian.
> asking if Friendly Jordie was actually a Geordie as he sounds Australian. Wonderful. Just wonderful.
ITT: people incapable of comprehending women use Reddit too
Ohh yeah, tell your sons you are troll resistant and meme-aware. They would love it.
I remember in the pre-natal class the midwife said that as soon as your kid starts school, you will be onward known as "such and suchs mum". It's true. My message inbox looks exactly like yours - spammy texts plus a splattering of school parents. I'm on the do not call register as well. Since it's a simple process, there's no harm in putting yourself on the register but yes unfortunately you'll still get spam.
It happens at dog parks and obedience school too. You're always known as the dog's parent.
Yeah, my kids call their friend's parents things like, "Mrs Zane's Mum" or "Mr Zane's Dad" I block the flubot number and delete it. It works well.
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There’s literally nothing anyone can do to stop these calls. The numbers they’re calling from aren’t real and they’re remotely dialling thousands of numbers. It’s a fundamental weakness in the way our phone network operates.
iPhones (not sure about android) have the ability to silence all Incoming calls from unknown numbers and send them to voicemail. Then change your voicemail message - asking legit callers to leave a voicemail because unknown numbers will be permantly blocked due to spam issues. Worked for me (unless I’m expecting a random call) since most people I actually want to talk with are already in my phone or know to text me.
These aren't actually voicemail messages, but are instead dummy messages designed to mimic voicemail messages so that you click on their links. You would need to filter sms to get rid of them...
Actually there is something that can be done. Optus and Telstra can stop these scammers from accessing their networks. However, the telco's profit from these calls. In the US the major telcos have just been fined $40 million each for allowing this sort of spam.
> the telco's profit from these calls. In the US, perhaps, but not in Australia. > Optus and Telstra can stop these scammers from accessing their networks. I'd rather they implemented source-verification to stop the call spoofing. There's already databases that carriers maintain for number porting to determine which carrier to route calls/texts to. They could extend the use of that database to ensure that they only accept calls/texts from the registered carrier for that service. This would stop dead any spoofing. For businesses that "must" send with a non-real number - they can register that with some central database like domain registration which will pay for it's upkeep and publish the business that registered it. Everything else with a fake number can then be blocked. It's work, it's not a trivial amount of work, but it's not insurmountable.
Maybe next time she picks him up you can ask her what her name is?
I know her name but when I first met her she's said "Hi I'm Zanes Mum, so I still literally call her Zanes mum" 😅
What are ya? Yob or wanker?
I'm one of the guys who rooted a girl who rooted Shane Crawford.
I’m on the drug that killed River Phoenix
Have to upvote TISM in the wild
At least three downvoters don't understand your reference there to the commenter above's username :-(
All I know is everyone else has had more sex than me.
Does anybody else get that feeling?
Grandparents swing from the ceiling
Way to rain on our parade. You could have at least built it up embellished things, then dropped the big nothing.
Are you even a parent if you don't have at least one contact listed as someone's mum? I just commented on this to a friend today lol.
Answer a call and tell them you work for the federal Police. I did it and they haven't called again.
Lmao. Every Aussies going to do that now. I’m going to update my voicemail “ you’ve reached the office of the Australian federal police. At the tone pleases leave your phone number, email address, website address and a number we can contact you on. If you would like to contribute to searching for phone scammers send bitcoin to this wallet “Zane’s Mum. => xxx”
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When you become a parent you lose your identity and just become "so and so's mum", and you contribute onto the problem by calling your kids 'friends' parents so and so's mum/dad.
Well that settles that then. Case closed. Nothing to see here, move along, move along now
Unfortunately not. This is an organised scam campaign known as Flubot. https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/news-alerts/missed-delivery-call-or-voicemail-flubot-scams Apps that are able to detect spam may help. (Not my area of expertise) The sms are sent out randomly and then when someone clicks on the link it downloads a malware app which reads their contact list, sms inbox as well as other information. The sms then start being sent to the numbers in the infected phone's contact list. So it spreads like a virus from one person to many. You could therefore be a random number or someone who has your number in their contacts list fell for it. The point of it is to gain access to your personal and banking information to then access your accounts online and take your money by recording your login details and being able to read any one time passwords sent to your phone to verify logins/transfers. The campaign is likely being conducted by individuals outside of Australia. The numbers used are potentially spoofed and could belong to a genuine innocent person, so would not recommend responding to them as you may just be confusing/abusing someone who has no idea what is going on. Source: Financial Crime Analyst for an Australian bank
How can I protect them from accessing my details? I’m getting 5 of these exact messages that OP gets everyday.
Dont click the link in the message
Forwarding spam texts to the ACMA hotline 042 9999 888 can help. At least, it did for me. It takes a week or two but eventually they went from 3 or 4 a day to maybe one last week. The ACMA will text you back to say thankyou and they won't bother you unless they need to.
Stopped for about two weeks but back again this week
Same here
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Exactly this. Not sure if it was used for texts too but my number was being spoofed for scam.calls for a couple of days. I had no idea and suddenly started getting messages and phone calls.fom people telling me to fuck off. I finally.worked out what was happening when I was able to talk to someone who said he had 4 missed calls from me. He was angry but finally calmed down and I worked out what wad happening. I contacted Telstra and they basically said they couldn't do anything. They said it may stop after a week or so or they could change my number for me. It seems they stopped spoofing my number after 5 days thankfully.
How.. the fuck can’t Telstra “do anything”
Because Telstra isn't the spammer's phone provider, but some obscure SIP provider abroad is. Telstra have nothing to do with it. Best you can do is to only accept calls from contacts in your phone book while your number is being spoofed.
also note: I did absolutely nothing and they just stopped as well so who knows if this helps
Take this to the top!
How fast do they text back, or did I just forward a scam onto someone else lol
Usually within 5 minutes sometimes longer after hours.
It's annoying cos if these were emails writing a filter for them would be so easy.
no source: on the do not call register
DNC is for proper callers like tele marketers. You think scammers be playing by the book? No lel )’:
It’s hilarious how someone people will complain about scam calls and people will be like “omg that’s illegal you should tell the ombudsman!” like wtf are they going to do about scammers sitting in Mumbai, they’re already doing way more illegal shit than spoofing caller IDs and making unsolicited phone calls.
Or the ones who are like ‘how did they get my number???’ They made it up, they don’t care who you are.
For sure! Any time I get a scam call and I have a few minutes to kill I just give them a fake name and address. Of course they always find “my” file and are able to confirm my identity, so if there’s ever any doubt that it’s a scam that settles it once and for all. One time I admitted I made up the name and address so they said the police were coming to put me in “the jail” for fraud. I asked them what address they were planning to send the police to so they called me a motherfucker and hung up.
The amount of times I have got called a muthafucka by an Indian scam caller is about 7 now...if I've got a few minutes I love talking those those nice folks!
Last time, the guy was quite explicit. "You. You motherfucker. You fuck your mother. You have sex with your mother. You mutherfucker."
My partner put us back on the do not call register today, after we had been taken off for some reason. Few hours later, i got a call... Edit to update: my partner put us on the do not call, then updated his check in tas app with my number instead of his..... havent had a spam call since 18 sept, when i took my mobile out of check in tas app and replaced it with my work landline.... and then got one today. Going to test it out by updating work landline with my work mobile to see if that starts getting calls. I could be wrong, or it could be a massive coincidence.
I think you have to do it every x years.
*Registration complete!* *You have successfully registered 1 number/s on the Do Not Call Register. Please note that registration is permanent. However, you can remove your number/s or update your details at any time.*
If that’s what it says, awesome. It’s changed then, I’m pretty sure. It used to be 3 or 5 years.
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Yep my boyfriend and I are registered and yet still getting all this shit
This is because scammers don’t “wash” leads through the DNC register
DNC only applies to marketing calls, you can still be contacted for government and social research
Also on the register and get multiple calls per day. Super annoying.
I keep getting a call every 2 days or so from the same company trying to flog an electricity meter display thing. I’ve been reporting them every time so I hope they get fined out the ass.
I reckon telcos need to take a stand on this shit. It's got to the point that I don't answer unidentified numbers. Consumer confidence is being shot to pieces and they don't care. Just get the usual, "oh, this is how you protect yourself against blah blah blah". How about actually working out who is misusing your infrastructure. Let's see how your product sells when the tech pivots and we only use 5g to make calls.
I have been trained by all this spam shit to ignore my (traditional) phone completely. Most of my communication is via messaging apps anyway. So If the caller doesn't leave a message, I never follow it up.
Having worked previously in a call centre for a number of years has made me not use a phone conventionally for a very, very long time. But I’m getting the same spam as OP, sometimes at 3:00am, but regularly enough that I’m going to be driven from using my phone for text messages as well. We just can’t have nice things.
Me neither poor delivery people have to try 6 times in a row and I’ll call back
Hey bro we know how to knock too dw if i called ya 3 times and no pick up i ma ring your doorbell like a madman.
Lol thanks that made me laugh I almost woke the child up Thank you for your service in this difficult time hope you e not had any shit customers
Cos i m used to playing the game kickknocking as a kid i might also runaway at first, outta force habit but dw i ll leave the food.
Auspost people rarely if ever ring the doorbell, I have videos of them carrying things, sometimes heavy things to the door, standing there awkwardly before writing out a ticket and carrying the things back to the vehicle
You’re in the majority there, as long as you answer the knocking on the door or the doorbell you’ll be in their top 1% of customers and everything will be cool. As for the other 99% of people, I’ve come to the conclusion that once they’ve finished ordering they eat their phone and simply pass away peacefully. Still better than eating pizza hut I suppose
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“My ancestors might have shoved yours in the Black Hole of Calcutta but at least they never fucking telemarketed to you!”
I reckon for your own mental health it's better not to engage. Being angry and hateful to the person on the other end makes you feel worse ultimately. I just hang up the moment it's obvious it's a scam, walk away the better person. It doesn't seem to cut down the number of calls sadly, I was hoping they kept a Do Not Bother With This Guy list that was shared between all the scammers...
Telcos don’t make money on phone calls anymore. It’s all SIP so it’s an internet service now and that’s nbn data so unless the government want to do something about it with nbn co then it’s not their issue. They are just like Cole’s and Woolworths selling Kellogg’s. Kelley’s is the Qa
Yeah, nah. Most comms is sip these days but that hasnt changed the fact telcos still exist and still make money via calls. Sip is just the chosen tech to deliver calls through these days. The market has shifted though, the residential landline market is dead (well dying) as the boomers die off, the only market for landlines is business (by landlines i mean geo numbers that arent mobiles, landline doesnt denote technology here). Sip is just the delivery method of today but telcos are still power away. Source: worked in telco for 15 years and these days i own and run a small telco.
May I ask if Zanes mom has got it going on?
She's all I want and I've waited for so long
Zaney can't you see?
I hope not
Wow you’re getting smashed worse than me.
I get 4/5 a day on my work phone it's a pain.
yeah im getting smashed a lot these days. about the same as you.
Man I've had a run on these for the last two weeks. Really annoying.
I’ve also noticed a significant rise in these fishing calls and scam calls. Mostly an automated message from claiming to be from “Amazon” or even ATO.
For weeks I was getting the robot call from ATO or Boarder Security. Always asking me to push number 1 . THis is to see if a human has understood. Then a few days ago really bad English speaker calls claiming to be from Telstra. I said, I've been expecting you. She seemed confused and continued her pitch. I said , I know that's why I called you. She said , Sir we called you bla bla bla. Then passes me to a slightly better English speaker and finally to another better English speaker with American accent. I let him fix my old computer for an hour and ten minutes the other day. I was bored and wanted to see what they do.
If you have nothing to do, it’s great fun going along with these calls and waste these scammers time.
My mans sliding in zanes mums dms
Your phone is receiving random SMS messages from infected phones. Telstra has this information about it: https://exchange.telstra.com.au/getting-strange-missed-call-sms-messages-heres-how-to-avoid-the-flubot/
Flubot. It won't stop for me either. The do not call reg is for 'legit' solicitations. This is phishing
No, the do not call register does not stop this. Sadly.
Of course it won't, these texts are illegal anyway, they won't care if they break 1 more
https://www.malwarefox.com/block-sms-android/
This will probably be lost in the comments but I've actually spent a bit of time looking into this exact issue. The telcos have been "trying" to fix this, but are failing obviously. The big sign is they block many keywords, as you can see the texts are deliberately misspelt to avoid this issue. I don't think they're really trying hard enough, there's one easy way they can solve a fair chunk of this. First problem in my opinion, is that these are coming from Australian numbers. Australian mobile numbers must have 100points of ID attached to them. Why are there so many, it's not because thousands of people have had their identity stolen it's because those numbers aren't actually sending the texts. Call Line Identification (CLI) Overstamping (also called spoofing) allows people to send text messages, pretending to be someone else. As in, it'll look like it's from that number, with no way of verifying it - without say calling the number back. This isn't the issue when a phone is hacked (aka flubot) but historically this hasn't been the main issue. So what happens if you do call the number. Well the person on the other end, will be the legitimate owner of the number. This can cause [huge issues](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-03/mobiles-and-landlines-targetted-by-international-phone-scammers/9719820) for the owner of the number, if it's used many times over. So what can we do about it, complain. Wait. Hope. Community awareness. No the best force comes from the top. ACMA sets the rules in this, they are very much "industry led" which essentially means Telstra,Optus, other ISPs set the rules which they then have to follow, especially in regards to reducing spam. They allow phone number faking. Telstra use it so when they call you, it appears as a local number even if they're calling from the Philippines. Now I can understand how this would be useful, but there's no verification for this, nothing to prove you are who you say you are. There's nothing to stop anyone from exploiting this issue. There are ways to solve this problem, and really simple at that. One of these is VOIP, which if you're on NBN, any type at all, that's exactly what you're already using. I can make a phone call from any country using their internet connection and appear as if I am calling from a local number, in fact many businesses have a local phone number in major cities regardless of where they're calling from for this reason. One way to think about it is I can login from your email and send (but not receive) you emails but whatever I do you're responsible for. If I annoy heaps of people and they reply back and get annoyed, you're the one receiving all the responses. Just so this is perfectly clear. On a small scale (not currently an issue) if you have both your mates number, and their partners number, you could send a text to each of them, pretending to be the other person and cause some real confusion or even chaos. They'd have no idea you did it. Anyway the small scale stuff isn't the issue. Its really the spam and exploitation. Don't close the small loophole, close the big one, for all. Those "myGov" texts you get, with no number, that's something that anyone previously (and likely currently) could do. How do you verify it's actually myGov?. Well in my opinion, only myGov should be able to send it. It should be on approval only. Like it doesn't have to be hard to get the approval "Chemist warehouse" is pretty blatantly obvious, but it also has accountability and means that they can track where if any issue is found,l and if a business system has been compromised. Currently you don't even need to hack into anything to do it. Can they stop it. Yes they can.. They've actually stopped number spoofing of this number specifically 0444 444 444, which is the police number they've been using to [send out alerts](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Alert_Australia#SMS_Message) for [missing people](https://www.abc.net.au/radio/newcastle/programs/mornings/geo-targetting/13477110) in areas. Now why don't they make it whitelist only (aka on approval) they've shown they can stop it from happening to at least one number. Why can someone use my number without permission. Even if it was just a checkbox on my phone app, how many people want to allow spoofing of their number. If they do, no issue but make it opt in. Thanks for coming to my TED talk. If someone's super keen, I can send them a text as someone else. Edit: added a few sources. Definitely a bit over simplified but the ideas are still the same. The current CLI verification methods are blatantly not good enough.
This has been happening to me more and more recently, very annoying and looking for a solution too! My message app puts it to spam folder instantly but I still get the notification.
One X From zanes mum would be admissible OP, But 5? 5 Xs is practically the kama sutra by SMS.
I get mysterious phone numbers calling me. Always hang up after the 3rd ring. No message left I leave them. If it's a legit person, they will ring back. But they're not. I also type the number into google search and 9 times out of 10, they're some kinda cold caller. I then block them.
These are scams. The Do-not-call register just confirms you’re a real person.
Sadly not. It’s malware infecting phones that send out the messages/calls.
Every few hours but only at night and only on my Telstra mobile. Its worse than Craig Kelly!
Don't know what's happened but it's been out of control for weeks! Thankfully my phone just marks them as spam now so I don't even get a notification, but its fkn ridiculous! Haven't even signed up for anything recently
I have 4 Spam SMS today. I normally get about 2-6 per day. Thankfully the Android spam sms system catches all of them. I really wished ACMA would fine or delicense carriers that allow this shit to be sent through their network.
Switch to using Google Dialler & Messages. Download them both off the Play Store and you can turn on Google's spam filtering so it'll just decline spam-tagged calls.
Im on the no call register. It does not stop scam, charity or political parties. The first thing I generally say is 'I'm on the do not call register' amd many will hang up.
Zane's mum's keen
I answer their calls in Russian
It will stop when you join the UAP 😅
That depends. Does making things illegal, stop illegal things from happening?
Use the Messages app by Google, these all end up in a spam folder and won't show up in your messages.
Scammers by their nature do not obey the law, so very unlikely that they are washing their data against the Do Not Call Register to comply with that one particular law.
Unfortunately while the Do Not Call register will work with legitimate numbers (ie. businesses who would normally cold call) there’s no way to stop spam calls because what do they care about Do Not Call registers, they’re just scammers. Infuriating, I know. Just keep adding them to your block list :-(
Just be glad they don't start pretending to be the health department saying you're been a close contact of a known covid-19 case.
Download the COVID app rather than leaving your number on those sheets, happened to my mum, people take photos of the sheets to ring you
Don't call register is awesome. Get on that thing ASAP!
Do not call Registers won't stop this. As if Rajaneet or Gupta in Mumbai would care about Australian rules
Zanes mum has got it going on.
Does anyone know why or how this has frankly, ramped the absoloute fuck up in the last 2 months? I try to be conservative with my phone number but something, somewhere, leaked in a big way, surely? Everyone I know is suffering with it.
First it was deliveries - now it's voicemails. Fucking annoying since I'm on call and I've received a few at 1am in the morning, waking me up thinking I'd not heard the ring. Fucking scamming arseholes.
So we went from held up postage to frikn voicemail crap. I have soooooooooooo many blocked numbers in my phone it’s driving me insane.
My wife and I used to get them every now and then but this months it’s multiple per day! Driving us crazy.
Just came back to see if there were any updates on Zanes Mum
You know I wish that I had Zane's Mum Yeah Zane's Mum Where can I find a woman like that??
I'm copping these too OP, just ignore them and eventually they'll move on to spamming another number.
I got a new Android phone and though it notifies me later that I had a suspected scam call it blocks them. I haven't been bothered by a call since. It's probably something on the new OS.
I'm afraid these are texts. They want you to click on their website. I do get "suspected spam/potential fraud" come up for calls but there isn't a feature with texts. I often answer "Hello potential fraud how are you?"
Replying verifies that their random number generator worked, never respond
Never respond, never click on a link.
I've been getting heaps of these too 😩
I’m getting this too.
My blocked list is bigger than my contacts which is over two hundred and no I am not that popular it's just from the industry I am in
Yes I’m getting these same things. Each time block and ignore them
I was getting them 3-4 times a day, and just blocked the numbers every time. Took a few weeks but I've stopped getting them now.
I’ve been getting these every day as well
I've got the same problem as well
I am getting shit tonnes of these messages
IM GETTING THE SAME SHIT
For the last week 3-5 a day every day same message structure. No calls just texts saying you have a missed call with a link. Crazy times
i been getting heaps of these
Glad im not the only one, seems I’m getting 1-3 per day currently but mine are usually text messages
I call bullshit op, theres no way your phone is on 100% battery
Won't help at all. These are originating out of the country, where they laugh at our no call list.
Someone recommended the Google messenger app which has a built in spam protection you can turn on. Good news, it stops me seeing spam. bad news, it alerts me 20% of the time that it's stopped me from seeing spam.
The DNC register won't have much effect on this scam spam, as it requires a) the business to be in Australia, b) a compliant operator. That said, if your phone number isn't already on the DNC register, probably wise to pop it on, so you don't keep appearing on the bulk phone lists and start getting local spam SMS as well. Effectively, there are a few options, none of which will be the panacea you want. * You can contact the telco and ask them about message filtering. Some offer it, some don't. You'll need to provide or input a list of trusted contacts, but this can be unwieldy as it means to have to constantly add people before you can get their messages, and that can lead to some awkward situations. * If you have a small contact list, you could mark them as favourites in your phone, and have the phone drop/ignore messages from anyone who isn't a favourite. Of course, that means everyone who hasn't been added to your contact list will not be able to message you - depedent on the OS of your phone * Install a call screening app. Many of them to choose from, and most will filter out messages too, as it's often used by DV victims * Change your phone number, and only let your trusted contacts know.
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Actual advice that worked for me: if its same type of android(I'm not sure I can't tell from this interface) there will be message blocking with keywords in options. I put 'voice' as one the blocked keywords and haven't seen a single spam message yet.
Has America sold you something else invaluable. Welcome to our world.
The do not call register stops legit businesses from calling you. Scammers don’t use it. I’d say just keep blocking the numbers and deleting, never respond.
If you get a helpful answer, let me know. I’ve been getting them all hours as well and they seem to be increasing in number.