NBN Co says that in the past quarter it received more than 9500 enquiries related to suspected scams.
The company said it had received around 100 calls a day related to scams.
In the first five months of 2019, Australians lost more than $550,000 to NBN scams, according to figures released earlier this year by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
That’s an almost 300 per cent increase on 2018, when ACCC figures reveal that scammers made away with an average of $38,000 a month.
Most of the victims of NBN-related scams are aged over 65, according to the ACCC.
NBN Co said today it was launching an “awareness drive” as part of National Scams Awareness Week. The initiative is being conducted by the network operator’s community engagement team, NBN Local.
“Through our interactions with the community, we know that scams are, without a doubt, a major topic of concern with respect to the NBN,” said Darren Kane, the company’s chief security officer.
“As we close in on the end of the network build, scammers are increasing their efforts to take advantage of the NBN brand as a way to steal people’s personal or financial details and using increasingly sophisticated ways to convince people of their legitimacy,” the CSO said.
“We want to help set the record straight when it comes to scams so that Australians aren’t confused or deterred from making the switch, which is why it’s never been more important for residents to understand how to connect to the NBN, as well as how we communicate with the public during the rollout.”
Kane said that because NBN Co is a wholesaler, it doesn't contact households or businesses to sell phone or Internet services.
“We will never make unsolicited calls or door knock for the purposes of seeking access to people’s computer, threaten to disconnect your services or request personal or financial details,” he said.
The company has a web page that offers advice on identifying scams.
The ACCC said today that for the first time losses from scams are expected to hit half a billion this year.
The ACCC said cryptocurrency investment scams have seen record losses. The consumer watchdog has received reports of $14.76 million in losses to cryptocurrency scams in the first seven months of the year.