Telstra blocked 2.9 million “scam calls” in the month of July and is calling for industry and government to come together on the issue.

CEO Andy Penn said there had been an “exponential increase in the number of scams targeting Australian consumers.” “In many ways they are like whack-a-mole – you thwart one scam and another one pops up,” he said.

“This is no game though – they usually involve a customer getting a call from an overseas country that dials once and hangs up.

“If the customer calls back, they are unwittingly dialing a premium number and will incur significant call costs – the profits go direct to the scammers and this year they are expected to net more than $500 million from unwary Australian consumers.”

“This is an industry-wide issue of broad community concern and we need industry, government and regulators to work together to address it,” he added.

“For all of this, though, perhaps the most effective response is informed and empowered consumers: consumers who are alive to the risks and part of the response.”