Weird Reason Why You Might Be Receiving Loads Of Spam Texts And Calls In Australia

You might have been unlucky enough to have received a strange text or call from a legit looking mobile phone number in Australia.

It will usually start with a weird word or collection of letters and numbers and then will inform you you've missed a call.

The sender has graciously included a link that will allegedly take you somewhere to hear a message left by Calper or Cgller or some other weird name.

Most people would be aware that this is a scam, however those who aren't well versed in tricks like this might be fooled.

These types of scam texts aren't anything new, however some people have recently been reporting getting a lot more than usual.

People on social media have criticised the laziness involved in the scam and reckon the wannabe hackers should try and use real names next time to hook their victim in.

But the question still remains: why so many at the moment?

Comedian and singer Em Rusciano has done the dirty work for everyone and contacted her telco to see what was happening and if there's a way to block them.

She wrote on Twitter: "I've been getting heaps of these dodgy text messages.. I know I'm not alone. So I asked @Telstra and they solved the mystery!!"

According to the telco, an Andriod 'flubot' is behind the scam messages and the link they attach to each text will try to install malicious software on your phone.

PA

A representative for Telstra told Ms Rusciano: "They're hard to block as it is coming from legit handsets/devices all over the world.

"They're more difficult to block than some other scam. But rest assured we are aware and working on it."

Thankfully there are things you can do rather than just delete the text.

Telstra has urged everyone to report the phone number to ScamWatch so that they can hopefully find a pattern to the madness.

If you're using an Android then you can always download an anti-virus app on your phone.

But if you have fallen victim to the scam by clicking the link, Telstra has some tips on what you can do.

Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie