Telus is warning its customers in B.C. and Alberta about an increasing volume of vacation scam phone calls.
The company says thousands of customers are receiving automated calls that claim to be from Telus. The recording says the company is giving the person a free vacation for being a good customer. If you stay on the line it connects you to a person who will try to convince you to give them personal information or send money as a down-payment on fees for the vacation.
Telus says the calls are fraudulent and in no way related to the company. It recommends you hang up if you receive a call.
While the calls typically have a North American caller ID, that is simply an attempt to look legitimate and gain trust. Telus security has confirmed the caller ID is being spoofed and the calls are actually coming from outside Canada. Telus security has already blocked calls from several numbers from reaching its customers, but the scammers are simply creating new false numbers.
If you believe you may have given personal information to a scam artist and need assistance securing your Telus account, you can call Telus fraud management at 1-877-567-2062.