"Hello, this is [insert name] calling from Telstra"

[wotnot]

I don't usually chat about this, because I have a mobilephone ~ my housemate doesn't, he uses the equivalence of a 'landline' ...which is actually voip over NBN fixed-wireless ..blabla.

Yesterday, he's out shopping, and his voip phone starts ringing ; he has an answering machine ; caller doesn't leave a message. Around 10 minutes later, it happens again...and again...and again...and I'm sitting here thinking wtf? This is unusual incoming call activity for this phone...(except when his aging mother manages to bum dial him, after inadvertently loosing the phone in her chair =) ...

....housemate arrives home ...we're just having a chat, and I'm about to tell him about the phone calls business...and right on cue, his phone rings....I ask "Who the hell is it?" ...he replies.. "It's Rachel from Telstra".....I'm like, "Oh...I see."... he walks off, talking on the phone....

....I calmly walk over to the modem/router in the corner of the room, pull the DC power plug, count to 10, replug.... housemate comes wandering back.."The call cut out" he says ..."Yeah, I pulled the plug ...I was just about to tell you about how your phone's been going off for the last hour ... it's some sort of scam.."

Housemate looks at me, and asks quizzically "What do you suggest?" .....and I reply ... "Well... if they are who they say they are, it'll be no problem for them to prove that, by sending you a confirmation email ... do not give/tell them your email address, they should already have that, right? If you get a confirmation email, coming from their domain, all good....if not, it's a scam"...

...phone rings, this time it's Daniel from Telstra ...by housemate spells out the situation to the called ; this conversation is terminated, until I received email confirmation, that you are who you say you are.... 'click'... no emails ever arrived of course =)

Why I am here reporting this --- I heard it for myself, my housemate remarked it as "Pretty easy to pick that as a scam ~ they sounded aussie, and not like someone in an Asian call center" ....I had to laugh..

..but he's right -- the voices must be AI generated, and it's a very good emulation, in both female/male/non-gender voices...crazy times.