Whirlpool

Just wondering if anyone else has found the same issue that I have with optus pre paid mobile. If my mobile is out of credit I can ring customer care, a recorded message tells me that I have insufficient credit left to make the phone call, instead of hanging up it begins to ring and I am able to hear conversations of other mobile phone users. It is like as if it logs into the next phone call going through the tower or exchange. Stranger still is that I can only hear one side of the conversation, the person recieving the call. If the call ends my phone immediatelly picks up someone else making a call and once again I can hear the reciever talking to the person making the call. Anyone else experienced this or anything simillar. My phone is an Ericson w300i, but I do not believe the phone is the issue. I believe it to be an internal error with optus, does this mean that the optus phone networks security is at comprimise?

i trying it now and it says i cannot make the call as i got no credit, then it says please wait while we connect your call :S but at the moment i hear nothing.

omg it worked

aetherunknown writes...

I believe it to be an internal error with optus, does this mean that the optus phone networks security is at comprimise?

In a way. Can you please report this as a fault?

Optus mobile reps (if there are any) - can you action this please.

The majority of the time I only get people ringing the 555 number for their credit balance but if you wait long enought it starts to connect you to phone calls in the connection process before the reciever answers them, why is this? I rang Optus about it but they pretty much laughed at me.

Wow. I just got out an old Optus SIM and listened to a convo.

Big issue. :|

And now I just recharged my account with $120 worth of credit!!!!

Something is seriously wrong.

Edit: The IVR said I did, but I really haven't.

michael j writes...

In a way. Can you please report this as a fault?

am now

Currently on the phone to Optus mobile tech, they say they are now taking this issue very seriously. They are asking alot of question about they have asked me to use up all my credit and attempt the problem again so that they can log the issue.

b3nji writes...

am now

Thank you!

Finally onto an engineer.

Quite a few stages involved. :|

Issue is now reported. They are looking into it immediately.

Chech it out, the tech asked me to call her mobile number ( & ofcourse I would as she had a lovely voice & stated that they would re-issue me the credit spent) to use up all my credit. Did this then put the phone to loud speaker, rang the customer care #1300 555 002. It tells us that there is insufficent credit for the call then whammo starts to ring like I have made a call, the first call is someone checking their credit balance, they hang up. My phone starts to ring someone else again, this time it is a conversation, the reciever answers with much delite and begins to talk to the person making the call ( We can not hear the person making the call, only the reciever), the tech chick freaks out and says "Wow, what a serious issue we have here, I have never seen/heard anything like this before".
Anyway they were unable to log the call, this is a serious issue, I wonder how long this has been going on for?
Ticket# taken, will report back after optus techs get back to me....

I have also logged this internally so it hopefully will be fixed soon.

lol my tech support said bye so i trying again and shes taking this seriously this time

b3nji writes...

lol my tech support said bye so i trying again and shes taking this seriously this time

Yeah I had to use loudspeaker, call 4 numbers and use 2 different phones before they went "ohhh.....".

I'm sure this is a very weird issue that hopefully wouldn't happen very often (has it EVER happened before?!).

okay i spoke to someone and the issue has been like this for a while and they are having issues isolating the issue.

She said the issue is been looked into very seriously and they are working on the issue now. She begged me to give them a call back if the problem does occur again.

I got scammed by optus. I used up all my credit to show them the issue and the woman didn't end up giving me back my credit, SCAMMED...
Try to be a good Samaritan and it cost me, oh well will I never learn.

aetherunknown writes...

I rang Optus about it but they pretty much laughed at me.

if we all report it they wont be

I like the way you say "She begged me to give them a call back if the problem does occur again", the problem is the issue is currently occuring and has to my knowledge for the past two days.
In an age where identity theft is such an issue surely a customer care # should care for its customers, lol.

aetherunknown writes...

I like the way you say "She begged me to give them a call back if the problem does occur again",

yeah well my first lady argued with me she said "ur account is fine ben" and i go "yes i know its a more internal network issue" and she goes "our network is fine ben! thanks for calling optus goodbye"

I wonder if the media thinks this is serious enough to be included in the paper tomorrow?

oscyaki writes...

I wonder if the media thinks this is serious enough to be included in the paper tomorrow?

i thinking the same thing.

oscyaki writes...

I wonder if the media thinks this is serious enough to be included in the paper tomorrow?

but then ur gunna get people trying it i think its best this be kept quiet.

b3nji writes...

but then ur gunna get people trying it

Well Optus better fix the problem lol.

If they didn't previously have this problem then surely they would be able to rectify the issue within a quick time frame.

It a very large breach of privacy and if I'm not mistaken this does break a few telecommunications acts?

Soory to go crazy on my own thread but..
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
The tech tells me that each time I have made the call to customer care it has not been logged, that there is no record of me calling that number. When I did it for her (AFTER USING UP ALL MY CREDIT) she states that there computers still did not log the call.
If this issue has been happening for sometime how would they even be aware of it if there software does not log the calls, I mean there is insufficient credit to make the call so perhaps no call was made, but surely as I am connected to the network using my SIM to easdrop on other conversations should there telecommunications software not be aware of this?

michael j writes...

In a way. Can you please report this as a fault?

Optus mobile reps (if there are any) - can you action this please.quote]
This fault has been logged, and we have raised this issue to our Engineering department to resolve the issue as soon as possible. We thank everyone who has called so far to report this issue to us; the more people we can inform Engineering of as affected, the better this will help them with collecting this information and resolving the issue for all pre-paid consumers affected. I sympathise with your concerns about caller and network security and we are making our best efforts to return our service to normal operation.

Hang in there, we're not trying to ignore your comments and reports! :)

If big brother isn't watching well Optus tech is. After posting the last entry on the thread that beautiful voice from the tech department called back to tell me that the $4 I used up to show them the issue has now been accredited to my account for an even balance of $5.04. Well thank you, now there is no need for me to ring the recharge line and allow others to know how little I have in my account...
I had hoped optus might be a little more giving, hint hint....

Vittra writes...

This fault has been logged, and we have raised this issue to our Engineering department to resolve the issue as soon as possible. We thank everyone who has called so far to report this issue to us; the more people we can inform Engineering of as affected, the better this will help them with collecting this information and resolving the issue for all pre-paid consumers affected. I sympathise with your concerns about caller and network security and we are making our best efforts to return our service to normal operation.

Hang in there, we're not trying to ignore your comments and reports! :)

thanks i guessing ur a optus engineer or someone from optus?? cuz i rang after this working as u can see by the 2nd post in this thread and the person just laughed at me i had to ring up twice to get someone to do something about it.

b3nji writes...

thanks i guessing ur a optus engineer or someone from optus?? cuz i rang after this working as u can see by the 2nd post in this thread and the person just laughed at me i had to ring up twice to get someone to do something about it.

I apologise that you were laughed at or treated incorrectly when you attempted to bring this issue to our attention. In the event that you are laughed at, or feel as though you are not being treated correctly don't feel afraid to request to speak with a Team Leader about the issue you are having. They will make their every effort to be patient and understanding, and resolve your issue for you as efficient and quickly as possible.

Vittra writes...

I apologise that you were laughed at or treated incorrectly when you attempted to bring this issue to our attention.

well i wouldnt call it laughing i suppose but she defiently didnt want to report it. she said "Ben our network is fine thanks for calling optus" then hung up so i was like "okkaty then" mind u i just rang up a 2nd time. The 2nd lady took it seriously this time which is good.

In the event that you are laughed at, or feel as though you are not being treated correctly don't feel afraid to request to speak with a Team Leader about the issue you are having.

will keep that in mind.

Well hopefully its fixed soon because....i can hear a call right now. which is disturbing lol.

So u from optus obviously?

looks like its fixed....

maybe not still got through after like six times

Issue still relevant, if the phone goes silent after the insufficient credit recording just wait, the silence will be replaced with a ringing of a phone as if you have placed a call.
Although I would not suggest anyone easedrop on a conversation. It is comforting to know that I am not the only one being listened into.

Holy smokes it works - what a shocker. Thanks for the heads-up Ben.

I have had a similar issue although I am on a plan.

Sometimes I try to make a call but instead of getting the person I am trying to call I connect to another call. It doesn't happen very often. So I just sit and listen...I have not been charged for these calls.

Suave writes...

Holy smokes it works - what a shocker. Thanks for the heads-up Ben.

haha u a optus tech support to?

Wish I had no credit so I could try it. ;)

oscyaki writes...

I wonder if the media thinks this is serious enough to be included in the paper tomorrow?

It got a mention in the 'Crikey' subscriber newsletter today. The rest of the media will no doubt pick it up now.

i already emailed the news about iit :D

Yep, thats how I found this thread :)

Now, to find an old optus simcard

Shaun writes...

Yep, thats how I found this thread :)

so its in the news?

Hey guys - very interesting findings indeed! I'm a reporter with the SMH and The Age websites - anyone who has experienced this issue and is willing to have a chat, could you please email me on asher.moses@gmail.com asap?

thanks!

Acid writes...

Hey guys - very interesting findings indeed! I'm a reporter with the SMH and The Age websites - anyone who has experienced this issue and is willing to have a chat, could you please email me on asher.moses@gmail.com asap?

done :D

I'm with vodafone and recently I got a voicemail message of someone at a call centre. She was asking someone else about why she couldn't connect a call or something, I could only hear one voice. I'd expect that if it was a mistaken call to my phone number, she would have heard my voicemail prompt and realised there was a problem. May be a completely separate issue. I don't get many calls from call centres to my mobile.

Ta muchly to those that wrote in - Whirlpool is great.

We've got something online (www.smh.com.au/news/mobi...74761637575.html) - if anyone has any stories about conversations they've heard by exploiting this bug, please contact us.

Acid writes...

Ta muchly to those that wrote in - Whirlpool is great.

We've got something online (www.smh.com.au/news/mobi...74761637575.html) - if anyone has any stories about conversations they've heard by exploiting this bug, please contact us.

Nice, gives whirlpool a nice look :P

read the first report by a user known as "aetherunknown".

Another, "b3nji", wrote:

wow u guys are famous now ^^

just saw it on smh.com.au

Wonder what the outcome will be...

Gidday guys, am new to whirlpool, I also read piece in the SMH prior to accessing Whirlpool

This may not be the thread to post to….however, thought you may be interested in this …..also optus-related security problem.

I have Optus cable internet and home phone with Optus voicemail. On March 21, I responded to the tone on the handset notifying that I had voicemessages stored, by pushing the voicemail button on my landline handset.

I was immediately connected to a REAL-TIME person, a complete stranger to me. Shocked, I told him I was trying to access my voicemail. He said that similarly he was trying to do the same. On hanging up I found my voicemail messages were gone ( I established by talking to friends that I had at least 2 that had disappeared) and could no longer be accessed.

Outraged at this breach of security (it resulted in me missing a specialist Dr’s appointment at very least) I contacted Optus via their websites complaint page.

No acknowledgement of my complaint.

I contacted them again via the site the next day seeking an explanation…..again no response..

Several days later, still pissed off at not being sent email acknowledgement of either complaint lodgement; let alone an explanation, I rang the complaints line. They started by saying they had no record of my complaint, but conceded that it had been received but they were “very busy”. I knew it had been received, and an attempt been made to action it because several voicemails that I had listened to, & deleted prior to the ”crossed mail incident” had been restored to my voicemail.

I pushed the supervisor who said he would call tech services and give them a hurry up.

I am still waiting.

This happened to me the other day when I called my parents, landline-to-landline! I heard dialling and a recording about insufficient credit :P

Then my parents told me about back in the old days, when everyone's phones got crossed wired quite frequently. When it happened to my father he would clear the line by announcing that they were being monitored by ASIO! One day he picked up the phone to make a call, and one woman was telling another about how her phone had been tapped by ASIO.

Makes you wonder when you consider that optus satellites are used to carry Australia's high security government communications. Maybe Singapore see Oz info as a new revenue stream to mine

Not just pre-paid customers! How about an Optus post paid customer like me?

Late Feb I experienced a cross call when I received a call originating in Australia to my Optus post paid mobile and I was in Thailand via global roaming. I blamed the local carrier - apologies in abstentia I suppose!

When back in Melbourne last Sunday I tried to make a call and instead got a crossed call to another local caller on the Optus network. Clear as daylight.

I had to hang up to lose this caller and dail again to make my call.

Looks as if the Optus problem is bigger than they would have hoped.

Cheers

raeldk writes...

Looks as if the Optus problem is bigger than they would have hoped.

See what happens when private companies cut back on maintenance to save a few $$.

Its about time the authorities took this seriously and slapped a huge fine on optus for breach of privacy.

Our story has been updated to reflect new information; it's difficult to determine which of these are widespread issues and which are isolated to one or two people...

cheers.. :)

The close timing between pre-paid and post-paid customers experiencing the same problem suggests that the cause is common.

Random problems are very hard to rectify (ex hardware engineer speaking) but I have little sympathy for suppliers of a service who seem to lose all ability to respond promptly and adequately to customer issues because of self-created bureaucracy.

There is nobody in the line where the buck stops.

I doubt that any other mobile carrier would be able to respond any better either. Here or overseas.

Just don't regard one's mobile as a secure device. A great pity.

Acid writes...

which of these are widespread issues and which are isolated to one or two people...

Add me to the list of being able to eavesdrop on Optus customer when my balance is ziltch.

Works for me. I'm in the southern suburbs of Brisbane.

Front page of the age website.....

www.theage.com.au/news/m...74761637575.html

EDIT: Opps just seen the smh link above.

woo hoo i famous now :D

b3nji writes...

woo hoo i famous now :D

for about 2 days to about 50 people..... :)

Bunbury writes...

for about 2 days to about 50 people..... :)

ahahaha yeah lol

Bunbury writes...

for about 2 days to about 50 people..... :)

I'd say the fairfax websites would be viewed by a few more than 50 people!

My mate showed me the method. I spent a whole night listening into peoples conversations because our phone tower is very busy. Alot of conversations can easily reveal personal information such as pin numbers, addresses, netbank passwords. This needs to be stopped before someone finds no money in their account and blames the person they told.

Poor service optus. :(

Cheers, Nath.

You would think they could at least broadcast a text message advising people of a 'potential serious security breach' and warn them not to mention their credit card numbers/PINs/personal details on the service perhaps

Cos if someone does get their credit card ripped off and their bank links it to a flawed telecommunications system that has not been dealt with properly, I imagine the bank (and customer) would be quite pissed about that, could be a bit of civil action perhaps

Greenstorm writes...

because our phone tower is very busy

You will hear conversations that are being made from across Australia.

The calls I heard ranged from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Plus I had a few people calling internationally etc.

Many people seem to get lost and call for directions...

pin numbers, addresses, netbank passwords.

They sure do.

aetherunknown here, once again...
b3nji you must sure feel good taking credibility for someone elses find...
I feel like you stole my fifteen minutes of fame...
Should I blame you; or the Melbourne Herald/Sun for not taking the issue seriously...
Atleast the media in some states reports news that is of real issue...
All in all the issue is still current, hopefully Optus might get on top of it soon, if not easedrop to your hearts content Optus mobile (non-credited) users, but that might be illegal.

Hi Guys,
I am an Optus post paid customer and I have recently changed to there 3g network from gsm. About 2 out of 10 times that I call my voice mail I get a crossed line and receive other peoples random voice mail messages... Very serious security breach as well I belive. I have contacted both Optus and the dealer I upgraded my service with, and there response is turn the 3g off and run with GSM only.

Can I add to the equation of the security breach/compromise, Optus have since sent me a voice mail message. The voice mail recording suggested that if I wished to change my plan there was a plan on offer that for every credit amount that I purchase they would award me 4 times that credit amount. Stupidly I deleted this voice message. Since then, I have called Optus in regards to this offer that was valid till 31st of march but Optus says they are aware of all offers sent by Optus via their network and no such offer has or ever was made to any customers. I ask that if anyone reading this thread has been given a similar offer please post any details in relation to this matter. It is my belief that Optus have many more issues that are only becoming relevant as the public become aware of them. Issues such as logging calls and offers made to customers, it is safe to say that if you do not have credit why would your calls be logged in the first place? Possibly because no charge can be incurred...

b3nji writes...

woo hoo i famous now :D

You know you made it on to The Inquirer as well ?

www.theinquirer.net/defa...px?article=38584

"Your prepaid balance is $32.11 cents".

If that was any of you guys right then, I know your balance, lol.

Dugg!!

digg.com/security/Austra...ws_eavesdropping

aetherunknown writes...

my plan there was a plan on offer that for every credit amount that I purchase they would award me 4 times that credit amount.

It's called Turbocharge. Buy $30 get $120 in credit. Buy $40 get $200 in credit. Buy $50 get $300 in credit.

Quick question - when was the first time you guys discovered this? Trying to gauge how long this has been happening for..

haha theres some weird legends on whirlpool, listening to peoples conversations for the whole night. I guess its fine if you test it out , everyone is curious but listening for the whole nite?

aetherunknown writes...

aetherunknown here, once again...
b3nji you must sure feel good taking credibility for someone elses find...

oh course its "aetherunknown" they interviewed (well i had a phone call from the news papers) a few people who have experienced the issue. where have i said "i found the issue"?

oscyaki writes...

I'm sure this is a very weird issue that hopefully wouldn't happen very often (has it EVER happened before?!).

Yes, plenty of times

i used to be an optus prepaid customer before getting a plan with them. sometime towards the end of last year something similar happened to me and I could hear someone else talking on my phone - only one side of the conversation!
it freaked me out at the time but i just disregarded it until now.
it must have occurred before september as that's when I got my new phone/plan.

Greenstorm writes...

My mate showed me the method. I spent a whole night listening into peoples conversations because our phone tower is very busy.

The conversations are not people on your phone tower, they are other customers in the same HLR or MSC.

Very interesting indeed, might have to test out the theory on my sisters pre-paid sim tonight i think.

Should finnaly show that optus need to pull there head in and start listerning to customers that call them regarding issues. This goes for any company that offers a service i believe. Coming from a hardware tech background, these issues arent always easy to find, but if you think about the issue and try and trace it, by performing the act, then it becomes more evident where the problem lies.

I actually am an Optus Plan customer and have been thinking about moving to another provider for a few reasons ... this just makes me do it sooner rather than later.

The issue about the calls being logged .... i believe (and from experience) that all phone calls are logged through the system. When it comes to contacting Tech Support, if the CSR doesn't bring up your account and log notes about the issue and conversation in their CRM software, then of coarse there will be no record of it, unless the call was made from your optus phone.

Im sure OPTUS would be shi**ing their pants now that its out in the media, and would be trying to resolve the issue ASAP ... well they should be anyways. :-)

Looks like a serious security hole, is this still going on?

I believe it is, I tried last night but it didnt manage to work for me, but my sister tried again later that night and managed to listen to a conversation for about 10 minutes before hanging up.

Well, Im on Optus but on a corporate plan and about once a week when I call up for voicemail I end up listening to someones conversation.

hmm.. seems like this has been going on for a while then. I'm with Voda and never ever have faced a situation like this so far. I guess its only with the optus network then.

I'm on Optus post-paid and last year, I tried calling a friend using their number from my address book (so I hadn't mistyped the numer). Three times consecutively, it connected to someone else. I was able to hear them and they were able to hear me. They thought I was pranking them and I thought they had stolen my friends phone, so as you can imagine it started as a confused call which went a little hostile by the third call. Waited 5 minutes, tried again and got through to my mate. Very odd indeed.

we're on SMH!

www.smh.com.au/news/mobi...74761637575.html

edit:: lol, missed the great big linky right under the thread title. Oh well. i dont' have optus so i couldn't test this out...

Not sure if it's related or been brought up before but I'm now on Three and once when I tried calling an Optus number on my three handset, I received that strange crossover happening. It only happened once about one month ago and I can't remember how to reproduce it but it is something for concern.

Round 2: www.smh.com.au/news/mobi...74761710831.html

saw the coverage on the age (same as smh) when i saw the title i thought of this thread

i bet Optus ain't liking this now haha

b3nji writes...

i bet Optus ain't liking this now haha

That'll teach these multinationals to ignore customers and/or hang up on them.

spunkarooney writes...

That'll teach these multinationals to ignore customers and/or hang up on them.

yep like happened to me the person just didn't care what i was talking about so i hope she does read this in the media and knows it was me who made the call to her :)

Can anyone with Optus test to see if the bug still works? Optus said they had fixed it but I wouldn't take that at face value...

Acid writes...

Optus said they had fixed it

where is this coming from?

i think it is fixed now its not working for me now like i cant get into calls

The problem with Optus is worse that first thought...... I am on a Telstra mobile service and whilst driving the other day along Springvale road I could clearly hear Optus landline customers ringing their call centre!!! My phone just suddenly went to its bluetooth loudspeaker and all I could hear was people complaining... so then I started to hear confidential conversations about banking details that I should not of been hearing....
At the time, I was thinking... what the... but too busy to worry about it!
I have had NO PROBLEMS WITH TELSTRA, rather just hearing Optus conversations. It seems that the Optus mobiles towers are "broadcasting" insecure transmissions everywhere!!!! LOL
Has anyone had this problem?

Good to see that phone phreaking is still alive and well in Oz....

;-)

FootyGuru writes...

I am on a Telstra mobile service and whilst driving the other day along Springvale road I could clearly hear Optus landline customers ringing their call centre!!! My phone just suddenly went to its bluetooth loudspeaker and all I could hear was people complaining...

Yeah right, your phone spontaneously turned on its bluetooth loudspeaker and you were suddenly magically able to hear optus landline customers complaining.

Somebody loves Telstra. :)

Hmmm to be clear here, just hung up a phone call, I always get a small second delay before the line hangs up. Next thing I know I started hearing conversations..... The rest as posted. At first I thought it was being transmitted via bluetooth, but then I realised my phone was active..... so I am assuming here that I got crossed with the Optus customers...

No don't love Telstra, what happened is what it is.

Why the doubt??? What you think it is impossible then?

Hmm just tried calling somebody via my telstra mobile and there was silence then suddenly I heard a tradesman leaving a message for somebody - having read this forum I kept holding and heard 2-3 clicks like somebody picking up a phone. Hung up. Dialled the same number again and got through.

Never happened before.

Bunbury writes...

Somebody loves Telstra. :)

Hmmm somebody loves Optus me thinx

FootyGuru writes...

Hmmm somebody loves Optus me thinx

I love everyone.

That's right. He's an Allphones dealer. He loves them all (as long as they keep sending the airtime cheques).

Mick writes...

He's an Allphones dealer

LoL

The Privacy Commisioner is now seeking more details from Optus about this.

A spokesman for the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman said they would only investigate this further if they received formal complaints from affected customers.

If you're interested, a complaint can be made here: www.tio.com.au/make_a_complaint.htm

I'm not phone tech savvy, so please bear with my fumbling. I'm with Virgin Mobile pre-paid. On Virgin Mobile's website it says:

"In 2006 we became a wholly owned subsidiary of Optus and subsequently merged with SIMplus, another Optus subsidiary."

Does that mean, I'm on the Optus mobile network? If so, would I also be affected by the crossed lines problem?

I rang Optus, but the Indian sounding woman had not heard of any crossed line problem, nor had she heard about the Sydney Morning Herald report. I asked to speak to her supervisor, but after putting me on hold for a few minutes she came back and said her supervisor was on another call.

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents worth to this interesting thread.

Hello

I am on vodafone prepaid and twice today (once when calling directory assistance & the other when calling a phone number) I picked up another persons conversation (but could only hear one side of it I think).

First conversation was someone speaking with a very heavy westy accent and the second one was just playing 'on hold' type music.. so I just presume it was someone on hold

I told the operator she said she had heard of that type of thing happening today

According to Optus, all problems have been fixed. Please private message me if that is not the case.

Pre paid?? WTF?? This happened to me, and I am on a business plan, called my wife a few weeks ago, and when it picked up, I was listening to one half of a different conversation, I could hear her, but she couldn't hear me!! Not my wife either, twas some other woman!!

:D

Acid writes...

According to Optus, all problems have been fixed.

i think they have yeah cuz it does not work for me anymore.

Nope. Just sends you to the 555 balance check and top-up line a few seconds after being told you have no credit remaining.

The age loves this thread! Thanks for the quote guys.

Last night I was temped to try the same thing. It takes only the first call to tell me I have no credit and wella. I'm connected to someones phone call. Around 10 o'clock last night some of the conversations were pretty saucy. Imagine if someone was listening into that? This should be stopped asap optus! I'm just waiting for the first person to sue for damages such as finacial loss or emotional damage, but since its such broad scale it shouldn't hurt to many. Not good enough.

$10 extra credit to people who complain such as me. I complained to optus around 2 weeks ago and got told that the idea of listening into others conversations was impossible. Stupid lady she was :P

Cheers, Nath.

Mick writes...

Nope. Just sends you to the 555 balance check and top-up line a few seconds after being told you have no credit remaining.

thats what it was always suppost to do

Acid writes...

According to Optus, all problems have been fixed. Please private message me if that is not the case.

Why would someone private message you?

Why should someone trust you with personal information?

Are you an Optus employee or media and how can this be verified?

spunkarooney writes...

Are you an Optus employee or media and how can this be verified?

Is a reporter for SMH. If you read the thread and follow the links this is obvious and verified.

DiscoGuy writes...

I am on vodafone prepaid and twice today (once when calling directory assistance & the other when calling a phone number) I picked up another persons conversation (but could only hear one side of it I think).

How?

you have read the whole thread haven't you B2O?

B2O writes...

How?

First time I just dialed 013 (directory assistance) and for about 20-25 seconds I could hear one side *I believe* it was one side of a conversation ..

Second time dialed a number and again instead of connecting what I heard was wha ti would describe as 'on hold' type music

Surely I am not the only non-optus one who has experienced something like this today? That would seriously creep me out

As i'm not an optus customer anymore i can't test this out. But from 2002-2006 i was a optus customer on post paid mobile phones, and i have to say over that 5 yrs, something similar has happened at least 10 times or so.

When i dial a number, it will take me to another conversation already in progress, sometimes i can hear both party, sometimes only one side. However i'm very sure none of them can ever hear me. Also, a few times the person i'm calling picked up the phone and instead of talking to me, we both can hear the same conversation between other people. This is quite a long time ago now, but goes to show that perhaps optus has had similar problems continuosly.

This absolutely sucks big time!!!!

I am a telstra mobile post paid mobile user and 4 weeks ago on the 5th March is was away on business and received a sms from my girlfriend saying that she was at home. I then called her (she is on optus mobile prepaid) straight after receiving the sms and it took a very long time for her to pick up, which was weird as she was right next to the phone. I asked her why she took so long to answer and she said that the phone only rung for 2 seconds max......that didn't make sense at all. When i was talking to her there was a lot of background noise and could hear conversations going on in the background. I then asked her why there were so many people at her place, and she said that she was in her backyard and there was no one around. I was very confused about what was happening. Then i could hear the engine noises of a bus accelerating and braking and also the tell-tale beeping sound of the automatic ticket machine on the brisbane busses.

DiscoGuy writes...

I am on vodafone prepaid and twice today

I'm on Voda plan and this has never happened to me before.

I have also had the same thing happen to me , when I called ' the rejection line ' , instead of hearing the normal speel , I ended up hearing someone elses conversation.