Warning over fake Telstra bill designed to steal your credit card

Telstra customers are being warned to watch out for a scam that has sent genuine-looking fake bills to inboxes across Australia.

The email uses the display name "Telstra Team" and has been formatted to look like an authentic bill from the telecommunications company, with an account and bill number, multiple links and branding that mimics Telstra's.

Recipients are told payment must be made using the 'Pay Now' or 'Log in to My Account' links.

Clicking either of the links redirects victims to a Telstra-branded phishing site that asks for the customer to login using their email and password.

After keying in their details, recipients are redirected to a second phishing page designed to look like a payment form.

Credit card information entered on this form is be harvested by cyber criminals.

Email security company MailGuard said the cybercriminals have gone to great lengths to convince recipients that it is a legitimate bill from Telstra.

"These include employing high quality graphical elements such as Telstra's branding in the emails," MailGuard said.

"A key feature is the inclusion of the sentence 'If you have any questions or concerns about this email you can get in touch with us at telstra.com/contact."

One major red flag is the account number appears to be the same across all intercepted emails – it would not match customers' numbers.

Telstra said customers should "think twice before giving personal details online - instead, contact the sender using their publicly available contact details".