REDLANDERS are being targeted by scam callers pretending to be from the NBN as the broadband network is rolled out across the bayside.
Cleveland woman Shirley Cameron-Kirk said she had received an unsolicited call on her home’s landline last month from someone claiming to be from Telstra.
The caller then said they were from the NBN before telling Ms Cameron-Kirk her phone would be disconnected within 24-hours.
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The caller hung-up when asked by Ms Cameron-Kirk if they were a scam caller.
Ms Cameron-Kirk has since encouraged others to trust their instincts when answering unsolicited calls.
She said if someone believed they were being lied to, they probably were.
About 1600 homes in Capalaba will be switched off from Telstra’s old copper wire networks in August, with parts of Redland Bay, Mount Cotton and Carbrook already disconnected.
An NBN spokesperson said people had 18-months notice to switch to the NBN before their premise was taken off Telstra’s old network.
The spokesperson said NBN personnel would never make unsolicited calls or door knock to sell services, with five letters sent out to premises by the NBN during an 18-month transition period.
This was after an area had been declared NBN-ready.
Landline and internet account holders could also expect contact from their service provider, like Telstra or Optus, about the change.
“The disconnection date should not come as a surprise,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said switching to the national broadband network was not an automatic process, with account holders required to contact their service provider for an NBN connection.
“Once the network goes live in a particular area, residents and businesses have an 18- month window to contact their preferred phone or internet provider and make the switch,” the spokesperson said.
“After this time, the nbn broadband access network will replace most existing landline phone and internet services and the copper network will be decommissioned.”
Number of Redlands premises disconnected from Telstra’s old copper wire network as NBN rolled out
– 1512 premises in Mount Cotton and Carbrook disconnected in May
– 2,866 premises disconnected in Redland Bay in November last year and 139 in May this year
– 1614 premises due to be disconnected in Capalaba in August
