Genuine phone call - how to tell?

Legacy_user

I have had two cases in the last few days where a bank security department has phoned me to warn about a suspicious use of a credit card.

One was about the company Barclaycard. A person who sounded as if from India started asking a lot of security questions supposedly to verify my identity. I became suspicious because he seemed to be about to run through all my security questions. I didn't think they ever did that, so I rang off.
On ringing Barclaycard myself, I established that the first call had been genuine. Some unauthorised transactions were stopped.


Then at home, the same thing happened (Lloyds Mastercard). This caller asked very few questions, but was in contrast much more willing to discuss the possible misuse instances. Again, the call was genuine, and the unauthorised transactions stopped.


So both calls were genuine, but they were handled in very contrasting methods by the two organisations providing the cards.

What is the correct safe procedure? Never assume any call is genuine, and insist on ringing back, having looked up the number yourself?

Lokolo

When HSBC phoned me I was suspicious, asked if I could ring back, they gave me a number. I looked it up, it was genuine. Phoned back went through security and they stopped someone in asia buying ladyboys.

Reaper

It is indeed ludicrous that banks expect us to be careful with security yet also expect us to provide all the answers to our security questions to a unknown person at the end of a telephone line.

I think the answer is for the bank to have a secret question & answer too that identifies them. So when they phone you if they can't provide you with the password then you know it is a scam.

As getting the banks to change policy is harder than teaching a whale to tap dance really your only safe option is to ask what department they are from then phone the bank back (looking up the number yourself) and ask to be put through.

jimjames

Agreed, it is crazy.

When I've refused to give info to a cold caller from the bank in the past they have got rather shirty. "Well of course I am from xyz bank" and seemed totally oblivious to the fact that any scammer would say exactly the same thing!

The only safe way is to call the bank on the number on your statement or their website. DOn't rely on a number given by that caller.

StevieJ

Clifford_Pope wrote: »

What is the correct safe procedure? Never assume any call is genuine, and insist on ringing back, having looked up the number yourself?

Sounds good to me, I have had a few run ins with the banks, Them - what is your mothers maiden name? Me - I don't give personal information out over the phone Them - well how can we talk to you about these great deals? Me - I don't know.
If you ring back you know you are speaking to the correct people.

nilrem_2

I have had this problem myself, you are never quite sure whether the person who called you is who they say.

A few years ago I had a frustrating address problem with Smile (Co-op bank) eventually one of the directors phoned me up and offered to pay me a sum of money for the inconvenience caused, he asked for some personal details to credit the account and I refused telling him that the banks are always telling us not to give out such information, he was very nice about it and congratulated me on my stance.

(FWIW it was a genuine call in that instance)

psychic_teabag

Not fool-proof, but I tend to ask them to supply half the information, then I give the rest. Eg they supply the first half of the postcode, and I'll give the rest, or they give day of birthday, and then I'll give month and year. Doesn't guarantee that they are who they say they are, but it does at least suggest that they already know the answers, and aren't just cold-calling to discover it.

Reaper

psychic_teabag wrote: »

Not fool-proof, but I tend to ask them to supply half the information, then I give the rest.

Good if it works. The only time I tried it they wouldn't hand out the info because they had not verified my identity yet!

Hen_Step

My bank (Halifax), very rarely contact me by telephone, but my wife's bank (Barclays), are always telephoning her and asking her to verify date of birth etc.
She just tells them she will not divulge any information. They are usually just selling something.

Stompa

psychic_teabag wrote: »

Not fool-proof, but I tend to ask them to supply half the information, then I give the rest.

I'd always assumed that for security reasons they wouldn't have access to any of your security information, except for the ability to type your response into the system and get a verification that it's correct (or not).

cgk1

This is really very straight forward, you simply ask them for a number to call back on, check the number is legitimate (easy to do with banks) and then phone back.