Banks calling you - they just dont get it do they?!?!?

Well, some do. When my credit card company rang me recently to ask about suspected fraudulent use, I said I wouldn't reveal anything to an incoming caller. Without missing a beat she said she was pleased to learn that I take security seriously and could I ring them using any of the numbers on the back of the card. Of course it would have been better if she'd said that in the first place.

IThat's assuming it was rge card company cazlling. Probably it wasn't. I had such a call from "Nationwide fraud department" late one evening. When I refused to give out info they politely said I could call the number on my card. I did and was told the fraud department was closed at that time of night.

Robert

In message , JaffaB writes

I know somebody who did just that, and the cold caller was BT. When she told me, I immediately called her son, who altered all bank details on their joint account.

Fortunately it really was BT, who were pushing a credit card application at a 75 y/ lady who is on Pension Credit and housing benefit. Not just the banks who don't get it....

Whenever Egg Bank have phoned me about my credit card account, they haven't asked any security questions at all. Which I think is the way it should be - if somebody else is picking up my phone and answering to my name, that should be my problem rather than my bank's.

I had a phone call today and I was asked for security information. I was asked for security information and I refused and pointed out that the Information Commissioner's Office advises that if they phone and number and they have no reason to think the person answering the phone is not the person who has originally given them the number they shouldn't ask for security information. We had an interesting disagreement about this. Her response was to repeatedly say that she had to ask because of the Data Protection Act and ignore my questions and explanations.

I offered to phone her back on the number I knew. I phoned back immediately and she wasn't available so when I was told she would call me back I said she would have to say "elephant" before I would go through security. She called back and said "elephant" and we got somewhere.

I called them using the 0800 number on the back of the card. They were expecting me.

I had a phone call today and I was asked for security information. I was asked for security information and I refused and pointed out that the Information Commissioner's Office advises that if they phone and number and they have no reason to think the person answering the phone is not the person who has originally given them the number they shouldn't ask for security information. We had an interesting disagreement about this. Her response was to repeatedly say that she had to ask because of the Data Protection Act and ignore my questions and explanations.

I offered to phone her back on the number I knew. I phoned back immediately and she wasn't available so when I was told she would call me back I said she would have to say "elephant" before I would go through security. She called back and said "elephant" and we got somewhere.

======================= So "elephant" is the word. I'll now proceed to hack into all your bank accounts without delay... :-)))

By all means phone me and say "elephant" and I'll give you my security information!

Did you get a date?

By all means phone me and say "elephant" and I'll give you my security information!

======================== On second thoughts, I'll simply xfer my overdraft to you :-))

What a sad reflection it is on today's society that we have to go to such lengths just to have a telephone conversation with somebody we do business with. It just goes to show how dishonest and distrusting people have become.

It was never like this years ago. You used to be able to call a company and just talk to staff there about all kind of things without all this nonsense.

Chris

Years ago people had common sense. People would be able to tell whether you knew enough about the subject under discussion and could avoid giving unnecessary information. Now it's just about covering their backs and not thinking.

Actually I think it's more that people have become (un-reasonably IMHO) protective of their "own" data.

The banks have to jump through these hoops because of the DPA, and it is quite noticable the number of people who complain that their rights have been breached when the Banks (and others) don't do this for even the most trivial piece of data.

tim

I disagree. Many organisations are asking for more and more personal data and we all know how well they look after it, don't we?

With Identity theft and similar crimes on the rise people are starting to learn how valuable their personal information is and therefore look after it better.

...which is a knock-on due to the way data is much more easily transmitted and processed these days. In past decades, the nearest anyone needed to be concerned about data protection was whether they were ex-directory or not. And to find out much more you had to engage in physical espionage.

So the worth of each piece of information was relatively low, because it was very hard to accumulate enough undetected (you probably had to ask lots of people for information, so you'd leave a trail).

But now there's so much data flying around and it's so easy to collate then people are clinging to it ever tighter.

Theo

That's true, but a lot of data used to commit fraud is apparently obtained by rifling through people's dustbins.

Chris

Apparent to whom? Sounds like urban legend to me. It's just what sellers of shredding machines want you to believe.

Not according to CIFAS, Experian and Gloucestershire Police.

OP back here. From my POV, its all because of a change of process. When I first operated a bank account, if you wanted to set up a direct debit or standing order, you either went into your branch or wrote them a letter/filled out a form. If you had problems, again, you went into your branch or again, wrote them a letter. However, in the last

A classic example is Jeremy Clarkson. A year or so ago he said it was all piffle, and put his bank account number and sort code in the Sunday Times. 24 hours later, his bank account was empty and money had been transferred to various charities.

Now, we have moved on from people sifting through dustbins. Today its Nigerians? phoning you trying to get information (I have received 2 calls with very broken English in the past 6 months, both disconnected quickly when I challenged them to prove who they were when they asked me for my information), or trying to make friends on Skype (add me as a contact please).

However, coming back to my original point, I treat my information as belonging to me. I don?t care if the people want my phone number to commit crime, rob me, call me at 10pm to sell me windows or for any other reason, you don?t need it, you are not getting it. This is true for all my information, from bank account number, email address, phone number, or email address.

If anybody thinks this information should not be kept secure, when not test your faith, and post all your personal details in a reply.