The NBN officially began being rolled out across Australia in 2008, and whilst the network is estimated to be 90% complete, there is still more work to be done. During the rollout, it has provided a better broadband network to homes and businesses but also given scammers an opportunity to exploit people in various ways. One must be aware of such scams and report them immediately for the awareness of neighbors, family, and friends.

Who are these scammers?

There could be several scenarios where fake NBN technicians can attempt scamming you. If NBN has not rolled out in your area, yet these fake vendors can approach you for property inspection, where they actually review your place for a robbery instead.

If you are already using an NBN connection, then they may also attempt to reach out to you for selling additional low-quality products. These can include Wi-Fi extender, Wi-Fi booster, NBN compatible modems, or even for the NBN repair. They pretend to be company representatives and convince you of possible access to your personal computer to steal information from it.

These scammers can try breaking into the house, sell you fake connections or products, or even take your critical payment information and use that in several illegal ways. Be aware when you receive any such call or receive (so called) NBN technician at your doorstep. Ensure that you check every possible element from your “Fake NBN Call” checklist. If you do not have a checklist yet, continue reading till the end of this article, and you will find one here.

How do they look like?

Just like any other human being, a company representative who has ID card, some papers, verification questions, your necessary information and may or may not know the current issue you are facing with your NBN connection. They act smart by targeting masses; it means that they will go door to door in your neighborhood to pretend that you are not alone who has been approached by the company, they are approaching all potential or existing customers.

They could act smart, but you can always outsmart them by asking many questions, identity proofs, asking for authorization details, and most importantly, by staying patient when you receive any such representative at your door or receive a call. You may not recognize the fake ones by their looks, but you can definitely sense the suspicious one by encountering them with full attention.

How can one try avoiding scam attempts?

Scammers may have some basic information about you and your family to build confidence. But they always lack information that they can use to initiate the fraud; that is where they will ask you for additional unauthorized details. You can knock down this process by not providing that information. However, if a real NBN authorized person also came in the picture, it is crucial to differentiate between both and get your work done. Let us provide you a simple guideline and a checklist here.

Identifying Real vs. Fake NBN Company Technicians

• Be thoughtful

If someone approached you acting as a representative of NBN, give yourself a wakeup call and check if they should really be approaching you.

• Ask for identification proof

Carefully look for the company and government-provided identities to identify the real ones. Also, there is absolutely no harm in double-checking from other sources to ascertain if the identity is real.

• Do not let every technician get in the house

Not every issue requires the technicians to get into the house and inspect the property, be vigilant in letting technicians inside the house.

• Do not share personal computer access to fix issues

If you called for a private technician for internet issue fixing, they should not ask for access to your personal gadgets. Instead, they always have their own tools to check and fix issues.

• Do not share payment related details

NBN authorized technicians will NEVER ask for payment or payment details directly. All payments are made to the company through the already approved mode of payment.

Summary

The key tip to identify scamming attempt is to deal them full attention. If you have any doubts about suspicious activity, immediately call the NBN call center or your phone/internet provider to check the authenticity of the representative at the door or on call. Simply refuse these suspected calls and get hold of the authorized service providers to deal with the issue a hand.