Telstra unveils new network-wide anti-scammer alerts

Telstra is trying to save its customers the trouble of dealing with unwanted calls through its new Scam Protect feature.

Rolling out to all Telstra network customers this month following a soft launch in December 2024, the feature aims to make it easier for consumers to identify before they answer by flagging suspicious incoming calls. In practice, the new scammer screening system looks for spoofed numbers, suspicious calling patterns and whether or not a given call is coming from overseas.

If an incoming call trips the right red flags, Telstra customers will then be presented with that additional context, giving them the chance to hang up on would-be bad actors before they even answer the call.

In a blog post announcing the rollout, Telstra Consumer Executive Tom Beach pointed to the ACCC's latest Targeting Scams report and noted that phone scams accounted for over $100 million in losses by consumers in 2024.

While Beach said that Telstra has put measure in place to help reduce call spoofing within its own network, potential spam or scam calls coming from elsewhere are harder to detect.

"The reality is, while we’re blocking millions of scam calls, we need to be careful not to unintentionally block genuine communications, which is part of the reason why some malicious calls can unfortunately still slip through," Beach noted.

Telstra's Scam Protect feature will be available from this week at no additional cost to both the carrier's own customers as well as those on a Boost Mobile, Belong or any other Telstra MVNO mobile plan. Check out the widget below for a round-up of the most popular mobile plans that come with Telstra Scam Protect.