02-8956-0269

Just received a call from this number. A man stated he was from Optus and wanted to help me get the best from my current service. He then asked for my birth date. I told him I was uncomfortable with that and hung up. It seemed genuine but I'm not comfortable disclosing that information.

Having been an outbound telemarketer, I know what its like to be on the other end. You are making calls.. but you don't dial the number yourself. Rather, it comes from an automated dialler made up of customers that are on a target list of customers whose services may be a chance of enhancing or improving.

The problem is that even though the caller is calling you... they don't know if they are actually speaking to an auth. person for that account. Yes... you also don't know the person from a  bar of soap ... so its good to be vigilant about your personal info.

Govt. privacy laws state that an inbound or outbound rep MUST read the privacy act AND confirm that they are speaking to the auth. person for EVERY account.

If in future someone from your provider calls you about a "Health Check" on your account & you are interested in participating .. this is a method we came up with at the Telstra call centre I worked at .

You give a bunch of DOB.. one at a time.. its then up to the operator to say which one is correct. ( If the caller is actually from your provider... they will know the correct DOB anyways.)

This is ridiculous. That is all well and good when YOU ring THEM. But for someone to call you and ask for private info!? How do you know they are from Optus and not somebody trying to get private information for identity theft (which happens ALL the time).

This is very bad protocol for Optus.