Customer says Telstra blamed her after scammers used fake ID to buy four phones

An Australian customer has accused telecommunications giant Telstra of blaming her after scammers used a counterfeit identity document to impersonate her and buy four new phones in a store, leaving the customer to discover the accounts days later.

Deanna Campese, who identified herself as the victim in a TikTok video, said the fraudsters walked into a Telstra retail outlet with a fake proof of age card, asked staff to change her phone number and email address, and then ordered four phones while pretending to be her. She told viewers a Telstra employee later blamed her for the fraud and warned the company would not reimburse her if it happened again.

Campese said she had filed a police report and contacted Telstra immediately after learning of the transactions. In the TikTok recording and subsequent social media posts, she quoted a customer-service representative as saying, "You look after your email better," and telling her, "The police have nothing to do with us. We don't care." Campese, a lawyer, said a Telstra representative later apologised after listening to the recorded call and that the company had removed the charges and locked her account.

A Telstra spokesman told the Daily Mail the company was investigating the case. "In circumstances like this where a customer’s identity and other personal information have already been compromised, criminals can commit identity theft and potentially pass through any organisation's authentication processes," the spokesman said. He described the fraud as "very sophisticated" and said Telstra had been working with the customer, had locked the account and had removed and reimbursed services and charges related to the fraudulent transactions.

Campese said she plans to pursue the matter with police, the telecommunications ombudsman and legal counsel, and that she is cancelling her Telstra account. Her TikTok clip prompted multiple comments from social media users who said they had experienced similar in-store identity fraud and account takeovers, including reports of impostors using another person's driver's licence or adding lines to an existing account before collecting new phones.

Identity theft and SIM or account-takeover fraud have attracted growing attention from consumers and regulators worldwide as attackers exploit stolen personal information to bypass authentication controls. Telco firms typically use a mix of document checks, knowledge-based verification and account-based controls to authenticate customers in stores and over the phone; Telstra's spokesman said fraudsters who already possess a customer's personal information can sometimes succeed in defeating those measures.

Telstra did not provide details on the specific authentication steps used in the store where the fraud occurred or whether additional staff training or system checks will follow the incident. The company said it was working with the customer to investigate and resolve the case.

Industry observers and consumer advocates have urged telecommunications providers to strengthen identity-verification processes and to make dispute-resolution and reimbursement policies clearer to customers who report fraud. In this case, the company removed the fraudulent charges and locked the account after Campese reported the incident, and later apologised for the conduct of an employee on a recorded call, according to her account.

Campese's complaint highlights ongoing tensions between customers and service providers over responsibility for fraud prevention and reimbursement when criminals obtain or fabricate identity documents. She said the experience left her "disgusted" by the treatment she received and determined to pursue formal complaints through official channels.

Telstra has said it is investigating and that it will continue to work with the affected customer and relevant authorities. The telecommunications ombudsman or police statements were not immediately available.