Online scams can come from many places, and Telstra has just announced they are now offering Device Security Essentials for  free through the My Telstra app. 

We’ve all been exposed to scam calls, as well as spam emails and with Australians losing over $2.74 billion to scams in 2023 according to the National Anti-Scam Centre. Its a valid concern, with research conducted by YouGov finding 86% of Aussies who own a mobile or smartphone are concerned about cybercriminals targeting their personal information. 

This has led to 1 in 5, or 18% of Aussies spending less time browsing the internet on their phones, while almost a third of mobile users are now using their phones almost exclusively for calls and texts.

To give their customers another weapon in the fight against scammers, Telstra has begun offering a new Device Security Essentials in the My Telstra app. 

The suite of security tools is powered by McAfee, long a leader in device protection with features designed to scan your device as you use it and advise of potential vectors for a scammer attempting to get your data.

It’s an opt-in service, which you can activate through the My Telstra app and offers an extra layer of protection for anyone concerned about online scams. Once you select it and install, you can then access these features: 

  • Wi-Fi Scan: Whether you’re at a café, airport, or on the go, this feature scans public Wi-Fi networks for security threats, alerting you to potential risks before you browse.
  • Safe Browsing: Shop, read the news, or browse the web with more confidence by receiving timely alerts before accessing risky websites and links.
  • Device Check: A security scan that helps detect and protect your device against suspicious apps and potentially harmful software. Note two differences for Android and iPhone users.
    • For Android users: this feature scans your phone and other devices for viruses and malware
    • For iPhone users: iPhones already have some built-in security to catch a lot of malware, however Telstra’s Device Check feature will still scan your device software and passcode setting to secure it is up to date.

The Device Security Essentials is a new layer of protection, which builds on multiple offerings from Telstra to protect their customers including the Cleaner Pipes Program. Launched in 2020, the Cleaner Pipes program  blocks millions of scam calls, texts, and emails each month before they even reach you.

You can try it out now by downloading the latest version of the My Telstra app on Android or iOS.