Tasmanians warned of possible NBN scammers

Stephen Withers
Friday, 15 July 2011 08:53

Your IT - Home IT

The dodgy types among us are rarely slow to spot an opportunity. Tasmanians are being warned of a possible NBN scam.

A consumer group is warning Tasmanians to beware of door-to-door salespeople that try to sign them up for NBN services. Digital Tasmania has received a report from a Hobart resident of what appears to be at best questionable practice and at worse an outright scam.

The report comes from a suburb where NBN Co hasn't even announced a date for the start of construction of the NBN. The resident was visited by a door-to-door salesperson "wearing a jacket with the logo of a major telecommunications company" who implied they would only be able to get NBN service through that company.

Among the possibilities are a salesperson that's trying to misinform customers in order to get them to sign up for a service that will eventually be switched to the NBN once the rollout reaches that area, or that it is a complete scam and that any monies paid to the individual will simply disappear without trace.

"Consumers should not shun the NBN due to this incident, because there are always unscrupulous people who take advantage of large programs, especially when awareness is low," said Digital Tasmania spokesperson Andrew Connor.

"Announcements concerning agreements between the NBN Company and prominent telecommunications companies have taken place recently, but the fact is that NBN services will be available from many service providers, not just their current provider," he added.

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