Optus Call Stop Saves Australians Up To $250 Million

• Optus Call Stop saves Australians from losing up to $250 million.
• Nearly 90,000 customers have reported suspicious text messages through Optus ScamWise.
• Optus blocks more than 2.4 million SMS scams in one day on 30 June 2024.

New data reveals Optus award-winning scam prevention technology, Call Stop has saved customers from losing up to an estimated $250 million[1] to fraudsters.

Since joining forces with the National Anti-Scam Centre and the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange, Call Stop has expanded to protect more consumers around the country. Call Stop intercepts and blocks calls to known scam numbers, preventing criminals from stealing money from Australians.

This Scams Awareness Week Optus is encouraging Australians to follow the governments campaign theme: Share a story, stop a scam, to arm people with the tools they need to stay safe.

Identifying a scam is made easier for Optus customers through Optus ScamWise which has seen nearly 90,000 customers reporting a suspicious text message in My Optus app. By providing customers with the visibility of trending scams and how many scam SMS and calls Optus is blocking on a weekly basis, customers can be on alert and share this information with their friends and family.

Analysis of new Optus data has found that the top five trending scam categories for 2024 according to Optus ScamWise are:

1. Tax

2. Government impersonation

3. Family impersonation

4. Reward programs

5. Bank suspension

Optus scam blocking volume in 2024 reached an all-time high on 30 June due to a surge in scammers trying to capitalise on tax time and the end of financial year. On this day, Optus blocked more than 2.4 million SMS from its network.

Australian Financial Crimes Exchange Managing Director, David Pegley said that Call Stop, an Australian first initiative, has allowed the AFCX and the major banks to develop an "Intel loop" to share scam intelligence across the telco and social media industries to thwart bank impersonation attempts.

We are proud to have collaborated with Optus on the groundbreaking work that went into Call Stop. As we know, shortening the time between detecting a scam and disrupting a scam means more Australians are protected. Call Stop led to the AFCXs Anti-Scam Intel Loop, which enables banks and National Anti-Scam Centre to share scam intelligence with a larger number of telcos and a social media platform, so that more scam communications can be stopped before Australians are exposed to them, said Mr Pegley.

Optus Chair of Cyber Security and Data Science at UniSA, Dr Mamello Thinyane said, There are new techniques and types of scams which are enabled by technology and recent AI developments, but none of the underlying mechanisms are really new. Its the same old effect mechanisms such as deception (e.g. deepfakes, typo-squatting), authority (e.g. an email from the boss), social proof or conformity, distraction, and persuasion (e.g. the urgency, scarcity, baiting or quid pro quo).

However, there is no doubt AI is having, and will continue to have, a transformative impact on online scams. AI is enabling cybercriminals to quickly generate malicious software, to produce appropriately crafted messages for phishing attacks, and to create deepfakes which can mimic peoples voices and faces in social engineering attacks.

Optus Managing Director of Customer Solutions, Matt Williams said, At a time when scammers continue to get more creative and aggressive in their attempts, Optus blocking systems and scam tools such as Call Stop and Optus ScamWise protect our customers.

We are seeing some consistent trends through Optus ScamWise. Typically, scammers wont address the individual by name and they have a sense of urgency associated with what they are asking. A lot of the scams have spelling mistakes and the majority are requesting customers follow a link instead of accessing an app, which would be more secure.

With programs and initiatives such as the Digital Thumbprint Program, SafeCall with Westpac and a targeted Cultural and Linguistically Diverse Awareness campaign, Optus is arming Australians with the right technologies, tools and education measures to help protect them against fraud.

Mamellos Tips to Fight off Scams:

1. Always verify. Make sure you verify who you are communicating with - request a piece of information which the person would know. Instead of following a link, type the URL and confirm it belongs to the right organisation.
2. Pay attention and maintain focus. Keep an eye on information overload and attempts to distract you. If it doesnt feel right or make sense, trust your instinct. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
3. Take your time and make considered decisions. If you feel rushed into making a decision, dont make it.
4. Put in place standard online hygiene practices. Do not click unknown suspicious links, do not share your credentials with anyone, implement multi-factor authentication on your accounts, use a password manager and remember, the person at the end of the line could be a cybercriminal.

Through Optus blocking systems, including partnerships with the National Anti-Scam Centre, Australian Financial Crimes Exchange and the major banks, Optus blocked more than 23 million scam calls and 36 million scam SMS from circulation on its network last quarter[2]. The National Anti-Scam Centre estimate a $203 million reduction in scam losses over the past eight months[3].

We know that there is more work to be done and Optus remains committed to playing our part to combat scams alongside industry, government and the community.