Skeptical? Cynical? Paranoid? Or Healthily Questioning…?

By admin | April 19, 2010 | Leave a Comment

OK so I’ve worked for Symantec for quite a while now and I know that there are lots and lots of bad guys trying to fleece you and scam you, and I am fully prepared to accept I am as a result even more skeptical about any emails or calls I get. But I had a call last week from my credit card company which made me think.

It seems that my monthly statement was lost somehow and as a result I didn’t made a payment last month – now quite apart from the questionable customer service given this is the first time I’ve ever missed a payment, and it was just one month – I received a call from a call centre asking me to give them my bank account details so I could make the payment over the phone.

So if you got a similar call would you go ahead and give your details? They seemed to know who I was and had my account details and obviously my phone number….. But they seemed genuinely confused when I suggested that they might be scammers and how did I know they were from my credit card company at all? They simply couldn’t handle this line of questioning.

I even spoke to the ‘team leader’ and she just didn’t get it either!

So my advice is always, do not EVER respond to an un-solicited phone call or email asking for your bank details. ALWAYS question who it is who is contacting you and whether they are who they say they are. NEVER send or give your details to anyone until you have confirmed who they are. Be SKEPTICAL and yes a little PARANOID about any online or on the phone transactions because there are really bad people out there in the Underground Economy trying to scam and steal from you!

Oh and yes I did make my payment in the end, but I did it online via my banking site protected by the Norton 360 I run on my home PC. I’ll also be looking for a new credit card company who understand customer service and security!

Dominic Cook

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