TPG Community

Get online support

Tips on How to Protect Yourself from Scams, Spam Email, Call and SMS

Joseph_D
Moderator

What to do if you receive suspicious correspondence or calls claiming to be from TPG

 

If you receive a call, letter, email, text message or other communication that claims to be from TPG and you suspect it may be a scam or hoax, give us a call on 13 14 23.

 

To help identify these suspicious correspondence or calls, please visit Identifying Scam or Phishing E-mails, Calls and SMS - TPG Community

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Scam Phone Calls

 

TPG only calls our customers from selected numbers. If you receive a phone call that you suspect is fraudulent, this is what we advise:

 

  • Don’t give the caller any personal details and hang up.
  • Check that the call is coming from a number that’s not a number that we use.
  • Block the caller/sender’s number using your phone’s built-in call rejection features or by downloading an app to restrict incoming calls and messages.
  • Email customer_relations@tpg.com.au and provide the date and time you received the call, how many calls you received in total and your mobile number

 

Back to Top

 

 

 

 Ways to Protect Your Mobile Device

 

Here are some ways to protect your device:

 

  • Make sure to use strong PINs and passwords and change them regularly. Avoid easy to guess PINs and passwords like ‘1234’, ‘0000’ and ‘password’.
  • Lock your mobile handset and voicemail with strong PINs.
  • Think carefully before clicking on a link or opening suspicious emails and attachments.
  • Pay attention to your app permissions (what your apps are allowed to do and access, e.g. location, call history, etc). Only allow necessary permissions.

 

Back to Top

 

 

 

 Scam Emails and SMS (Short Message Service)

 

If you receive an email or text message that is unknown, unsolicited or you suspect to be fraudulent including messages with a one-time code that you didn’t initiate, this is what we advise:

 

  • Don’t reply to the SMS or email
  • Don’t provide any personal details
  • Don’t click on any links
  • Don’t open any attachments
  • Don’t call any numbers associated with the SMS or email
  • Don’t share any content of the SMS or email with anyone
  • Report the email or SMS to Scamwatch.
  • Email customer_relations@tpg.com.au and provide a screenshot of the suspected fraud message, the date and time you received it, how many times you received it and your mobile number.

 

Back to Top

 

 

 

 Tips for avoiding Spam and Junk Email

 

  • Do not post your email address on chat rooms, forums or websites; if you need to share your email address on social media, use a private message wherever possible.
  • Avoid participating in chain emails – your email address can remain in the email to be seen by anyone who reads it in the future. These emails can end up contain hundreds or thousands of email addresses, making them highly desirable to be collected and used for phishing scams or spam email.
  • If you do need to send emails to large groups of people, you should make use of the BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) field when sending the email. The advantage of using this instead of the To or CC field is that all of the email addresses are hidden from the recipients. Although recipients can still make use of the "reply all" feature, BCC means that the list of email addresses can't be forwarded in the same manner as chain emails.
  • Be careful when registering software, joining certain websites or entering any competitions that require your email address; most forms include checkboxes asking if you agree to receive marketing emails from them. Un-tick these boxes before submitting your form.

 

Back to Top

 

 

 

 Additional Security Measures

 

  • Regularly scan your computer for viruses and malware.
  • Make sure to update the software and application of your devices to its latest version
  • Your Wi-Fi network should have a secure WPA/WPA2-PSK password, don’t share its password with anyone you don’t want to have access to your network.
  • Instead of just clicking the link on an email, visit the trusted website via their website address
  • Be cautious when using an untrusted computer and connecting to a public Wi-Fi network as your personal details may be compromised.
  • Never share your passwords over email, instant messengers or social media. If you need to record any password, write it down on a piece of paper and keep it somewhere safe.
  • Make it a habit to change your account password on a regular basis. Your password may already be known by some and is just waiting for that someone to access your account.

 

 

Back to Top

 

 

 

Related Topics:

Identifying Scam or Phishing E-mails, Calls and SMS - TPG Community

 

 

Contributed by Mel G