We’ve all been there. The unknown number lighting up your phone. The robotic voice insisting you owe tax. The message claiming your parcel is stuck until you “click here.” Don’t click there! Scams have become so common, they’re almost background noise. Until they get you or someone you know. A friend duped into handing over credentials. A relative tricked into transferring money. Then the threat feels very real.

At Telstra, we have been steadily building a multi-layered defence against scams and fraud.

This includes work done by Quantium Telstra, our joint venture with Quantium, which has seen the creation of products that help banks to detect, prevent and block scams and fraud.

Telstra is committed to helping keep Australians safer from scams when they are using online services.

Spotting a scam using Telstra Scam Indicator

While scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated, there are some factors that work in our favour. When you look at the detail, scam calls have a range of distinctive attributes that make them stand out from normal calls. For instance, they’re usually longer, as the scammer must convince the target they are legitimate before asking for details or money transfers.

“The vast majority of phone-based scams begin with an incoming call,” explained Karl Gyzen, Lead Product Manager at Quantium Telstra. “Scammers call the target and stay on the phone as long as it takes to guide them through the process of transferring money, downloading software or handing over other details”.

Scam Indicator provides network insights so banks and other partners can cross-reference with their own fraud indicators to assist them in calculating the likelihood a fraud is taking place. If a suspicious call coincides with a financial transaction – especially one involving a new payee or raised transfer limit – the system can help banks decide whether to flag or block the transaction.“We found the strongest predictor was whether there was a phone call happening at the time of the transaction,” said Gyzen. “If we combine the telco side and bank side and both see something odd, the bank can stop a transaction before the payment leaves the victim’s account”.

Using data insights to reduce fraud

Our protective capabilities also include Telstra Fraud Indicator.

Fraud Indicator helps protect customers against scammers using stolen or fake credentials. It analyses a combination of data points including SIM churn and usage patterns to spot potential fraudulent services. Is the SIM making thousands of calls an hour? Is it used only to receive one-time passcodes?

“Individually, these are important signals but on their own they are not enough,” Gyzen said. “The real strength of Scam Indicator and Fraud Indicator comes from combining their insights with other information to paint a clear picture. It’s about creating intelligence that can inform better decisions without falsely flagging legitimate users”.

Proven protection

We’re proud to say we’ve had real impact with these features. Since expanding Telstra Scam Indicator coverage to include wholesale mobile services in 2024, the service has prevented hundreds of thousands of dollars in scam and fraud-related losses for customers of Commbank who use the Telstra Wholesale Mobile Network. And that’s just part of the picture.

“With wholesale services included, we’ve seen a 40% increase in API utilisation,” Gyzen noted. “That broader coverage helps protect everyone”.

As for Fraud Indicator, it’s still early days but the results are promising. “We expect uptake to grow as more partners integrate the service into their onboarding and fraud detection systems,” says Karl.

Flagging suspect calls using Telstra Scam Protect

Early in 2025 Telstra launched Scam Protect which uses advanced data analytics to detect when a call is suspicious. Scam Protect uses caller ID-like features in mobile phones to offer in the moment warnings like ‘Potential Fraud’, ‘Suspicious Calling Pattern’, or ‘Unverified Overseas Call’.

We’ve flagged a staggering number of calls – over 30 million, since the capability was launched. When customers see the Scam Protect message, they’re more likely to be cautious when taking the call.

Stopping scam texts and keeping MVNOs informed

While scam calls can be intercepted mid-flow, SMS scams have different characteristics. That’s where Telstra’s SMS Scam Filter comes in. Launched in 2022, SMS Scam Filter checks the message against known scam signatures, heuristics and traffic profiles.

“Our SMS filter doesn’t only help to stop messages from reaching end users. It also looks for signs that an end-user service is being used by a bad actor,” said Antonio Tata, Product Manager at Telstra Wholesale. If a service is found to be sending scam SMS, Telstra can block it and notify the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) through an Event Data Record (EDR).

That notification can then be used to trigger follow up actions.

For MVNOs, APIs have been made available to allow a simple way for end users to toggle their protection via app or dashboard. There’s no need for them to remember a short code or send an SMS. APIs are designed to enable a safer and easier app engagement for end users.

Network Intelligence to enhance security & improve customer experience

In 2026 we’ll start to offer Network Intelligence capabilities to our Customers, to be able to offer to their end users on the Telstra Wholesale Mobile Network. This initiative sees telcos around the world creating standardised APIs using network data to help a range of use cases, from protecting end users or businesses against fraud, crime or misconduct, to improving the end user experience by enabling a more seamless login, transaction or password reset process.

The APIs will be available to businesses through aggregator Aduna, which can provide a network operator agnostic service in many countries around the globe. If MVNOs only need API data from users on Telstra’s network, they can acquire this directly from Telstra.

The first API from Telstra is Number Verification. This is a service that supports businesses to verify the control of a mobile phone number by conducting a real-time check on Telstra's network to confirm the phone number used to access an application matches the device in use.

Number Verification eliminates the need for SMS ‘one-time passcodes’, simplifying processes like account creation, login, or transaction validation. For end users, it means no more copying an SMS code into an app or website. And for businesses, it enhances fraud prevention and operational efficiency by keeping the end user in the application.

How to access these capabilities

Scam Protect, Scam Indicator, Fraud Indicator and the SMS Scam Filter are available now for MVNOs on Telstra Wholesale. You can enable notification EDRs, integrate API controls into your digital experience, and access updated marketing guidelines to help promote these features to your customers.

Network Intelligence is coming soon, and MVNO customers can talk to their Account Manager about opting in to these free capabilities.

Together, these initiatives help make it safer for mobile network users to be online.