02 9099 6515 - 0290996515: Impersonation Scam Reports

• Scam
• Suspicious
• Spam

02 9099 6515 (0290996515) reports show scammers impersonating PayPal, Telstra, and Department of Foreign Affairs. Callers request personal info, crypto access, and system access.

Impersonation Scam Reports for 02 9099 6515

Five contributors have reported suspicious activity from 02 9099 6515 (also written as 0290996515), with four flagged as scams and one as spam. The pattern is unmistakable: callers impersonate legitimate Australian organisations and use urgency to pressure victims into sharing sensitive information or granting access to their devices and accounts.

The impersonation tactics reported from 02 9099 6515 span multiple high-trust organisations, each with a different social engineering angle. Contributors describe callers falsely claiming to represent PayPal, Telstra, and the Department of Foreign Affairs, each story revealing how scammers exploit familiarity with trusted brands to lower victims' defences.

What Callers from 02 9099 6515 Claim

One contributor received a call from 02 9099 6515 claiming to be PayPal security. The caller alleged crypto transactions were on hold and attempted to convince the recipient to provide an OTP (one-time password) verification code. This is a classic account takeover technique where scammers use false urgency around financial activity to panic victims into revealing authentication codes.

Another report describes a robocall from 0290996515 that impersonated the Department of Foreign Affairs, offering language selection between English and Chinese. This more sophisticated impersonation suggests the scammers are using automated systems and may be targeting specific demographic groups.

A third contributor reported a caller claiming to be from Telstra. The scammer claimed hackers were targeting the victim and provided an IP address as false "proof" of the intrusion. When the contributor questioned this claim, the caller became aggressive and threatening. This tech support impersonation is designed to convince victims to grant remote access to their devices, which would allow complete account and identity theft.

A fourth report mentions pressure to click a "dodgy file" that would grant the caller access to money and identification information. This phishing tactic combines social engineering with technical deception to extract both financial access and identity documents.

Report Patterns and Timing

The five reports span from early July 2025 through June 2026, indicating this number has been actively used for scamming purposes over an extended period. Two reports specifically note robocall technology being used, which allows the scammers to make high-volume automated calls at scale. The mix of answered calls and voicemail messages suggests the scammers are persistent with callbacks if initial contact fails.

Four of the five reports came through answered calls, meaning contributors directly engaged with the scammers before identifying the threat. Only one was a voicemail recording. This pattern indicates the scammers are using live callers on some occasions and automated robocalls on others, possibly testing different approaches to see what generates higher conversion rates.

The reports mention three distinct impersonation personas being used from the same 02 9099 6515 number: PayPal security, Department of Foreign Affairs, and Telstra. This suggests either multiple scammers operating from the same number or a coordinated campaign cycling between different impersonation scripts based on victim demographics or response rates.

What to Do If You Receive a Call from 02 9099 6515

If 02 9099 6515 calls you:

• Do not: Share passwords, OTP codes, banking details, or personal identification information
• Do not: Click links or download files sent via call or SMS
• Do not: Grant remote access to your device or allow screen sharing
• Do not: Act on urgency claims (account frozen, hacker access, transaction on hold)
• Do: Hang up immediately if you don't recognise the caller
• Do: Verify independently by calling the official organisation using a number from their official website, not the number provided in the call
• Do: Block the number to prevent future contact
• Do: Report the call to ACMA and Scamwatch if you've provided any information

What to Do If You Receive an SMS from 02 9099 6515

If you receive an SMS from 0290996515:

• Do not: Click any links in the message
• Do not: Reply to the message
• Do not: Call any phone numbers provided in the SMS
• Do: Block the number immediately
• Do: Forward the SMS to 0429 999 888 (ACMA spam reporting)
• Do: Delete the message

How to Report 02 9099 6515

If you've received calls or SMS from 02 9099 6515, report it through official channels:

• Scamwatch: Report to scamwatch.gov.au - Australia's national consumer fraud awareness service
• ACMA: Report phone scams to acma.gov.au or call 1300 850 152
• Forward SMS scams: Reply 'YES' to the SMS and forward it to 0429 999 888
• If PayPal impersonation: Report directly to PayPal's security team at paypal.com/reportit
• If Telstra impersonation: Contact Telstra directly at 13 2200 to report the fraudulent use of their name
• If Department of Foreign Affairs impersonation: Report to the real DFAT at dfat.gov.au or call 02 6261 1111
• Contribute to Reverseau: Add your experience to this report to help other Australians identify and avoid this number

Frequently Asked Questions