Scam phone calls
Scammers often use phone calls to directly contact people they intend to defraud. A scammer may either personally impersonate someone from an organisation, or use an automated service as part of their scam. By confusing or intimidating you, scammers hope you reveal personal information they can use maliciously.
Things to look out for
Finding warning signs straight off the bat can make identifying phone scams much easier.
Do you recognise the caller ID?
Scammers often call from unknown or hidden numbers, which can be a quick indicator of a phone scam. If you’re concerned about receiving spam calls, some smartphones and smartphone apps flag these calls automatically so you can safely ignore them.
However, sometimes scammers can also spoof numbers. This is when a spam number looks like a real phone number in your country, so it still pays to play it safe when you receive an unexpected call.
Were you expecting a phone call?
We may get in touch with you by phone, but it’s not usually the first way we’ll reach out to you.
If you receive an unsolicited call and aren’t sure whether it’s legitimate, don’t feel pressured to provide any personal information. Before answering any questions, ask the caller for their:
- name
- organisation, and
- return phone number.
Don’t accept any excuses from the caller – if they’re a scammer, they’re experts at wriggling out of situations like this.
Are you being pressured to act?
If you aren’t expecting a phone call from us, check what the caller wants and tell them you’ll ring back after you verify the information yourself. Just remember to not use a return phone number if it doesn’t match the phone number of your insurer.
If your request is met with hostility, hang up immediately and don’t call back.
Your security and safety is important to us, and we’ll respect any request you have to ring back at a later date. If an unknown caller refuses to let you ring back and threatens further action, assume they’re a scammer.
Providing personal information over the phone
It’s possible that a legitimate service consultant from your insurer will call you about your policy. This may require us to ask you personal questions to verify we’re talking to the right person.
It’s completely understandable if you don’t feel comfortable exchanging personal information over the phone. Just ask for a reference number and let your service consultant know you’ll return the call using a trusted phone number.
You can use the phone numbers listed below to get in touch with your insurer.
Remember, in order to ensure you’re speaking to a legitimate service consultant, only use these numbers – not one that the caller provides.
