Banks calling me

[Potatoman]

Hi all - This has been bugging me for a while - The other day, my bank called me and asked me to confirm my address, post code, etc... It was only a survey, but it got me thinking:- How do i know im actually talking to my bank and not someone trying to fish for information...? Would it be rude to ask them how do i know your from my bank? Thanks.

[rachela500]

No it would not be rude. It's your money at the end of the day. Really, they should know your address and postcode, I wouldn't give out any information to anyone.

[CW1]

Hi,

I had a similar call a while back and that's exactly what I said to them ! No, it's not rude at all. Can't remember how I got round it but I wouldn't tell'em anything. Think I called them back.

And when you confirmed your details you mean you did confirm rather than tell them what they wanted to know ? ;o)

[Oneeyedvic]

I had a call from Halifax on Saturday - they asked me to confirm my details - I asked them why, since they were calling me. They said that they needed to make sure they were speaking to me and not anyone else.

I told them that since it was a sales call, they had better put it in writing as I was not confirming anything to them over teh phone.

(does seem silly that although they have my phone number on file, they won't take it that it is me - but they will send my bank statements etc to the address that they have on file!)

[Hgrove]

I used to get a no. of phonecalls from someone claiming to be from Nat West, saying they had something important to say to me but first I had to tell them my first name! I used to reply, if you really are my bank, you must know my first name, therefore I am not telling you. And they would reply, "but it's a matter of imporance but we cannot disclose it unless you give us your name". Eventually I went to the high st. branch and told them that I believed there was a scam going on. After some checks they said that it was genuine, it was a call centre speaking on behalf of Nat West, and they really had to ask me my name because "people move and don't tell us and we cannot risk discussing your details with a stranger". I told them this was totally unacceptable, irresponsible and dangerous because I risked giving my details away to a strange caller. They said the only way they could stop me receiving these calls was to change my customer profile to say I was not to be contacted by telephone. I am not sure that was what I wanted. What I wanted was not being asked to give my first name to a strange caller, but there seemed to be no other way. And I have not had any phone calls since.

[Frankie Babe]

I hope this isn't what happened to you potatoman but there is a well-known scam where someone claiming to be from your bank calls you up to confirm all your details. They give you all the information including your credit card number so it sounds genuine, but then they ask for your 3-digit security number. If they asked for that its a con and you need to notify your bank and the police.

[WoWo]

What egg do is ask for a certain letter from your password or name. The person at the end of the phone only gets to see that character on the screen and you don't have to tell them the full word.

so say your mothers maiden name was Eggplant, they would ask for the 3rd and 6th letters. G,A.

[scoobydooby]

Watch out for those calls from banks. We had a call from a bank mentioned here and my husband refused to confirm his details, saying "but you called me and I don't want anything from you". Anyway, the guy from the bank took offence and went ahead with a credit card application anyway! Luckily we realised before the card arrived but it transpired that the guy had used as much info as he had and guessed the rest (wrong year of birth also). After complaining to the bank, they investigated and found out what had happened. We were advised that the guy was severly dealt with but it just goes to show that if you don't answer their questions you could be in more trouble than if you did. The bank ran a credit check on my husband and it took them 40 days to have the entry removed !! Be warned.

[Gef]

Just put the phone down. If it really is your bank and it's something important (ie not them trying to sell you something) then they will write to you.

[larakitten]

Hi, i work for a high st bank, and certainly if we do have to call a customer for any reason, its imperative that we identify who we are talking to. Its amazing how many people move house, tell us their new address but dont tell us if they've changed their telephone number! We cannot risk disclosing anything about you to a third party, the Data Protection Act is there and must be adhered to.

The best thing to do, if you're in any doubt, is to call the bank back yourself. Under no circumstances really should any personal details be voluntarily offered........if I call a customer, i ask them to confirm how many accounts they hold with us and to tell me a couple of Direct Debits on their main account...nothing personal, but something that i can see directly on my PC.

x

[pad444]

They do these checks for security to ensure your information does not fall into the wrong hands, and to comply with the Data Protection Act. One way around it is to contact your bank, and give them a security password specific to your account that they have to confirm on any outgoing calls to yourself. Then if they cant give you your password dont talk to them.Obviously, this will only apply on them ringing you, and then you will have to complete their security checks before they will discuss your account, but at least you will know that they are genuine.

[gammaray]

Just tell them that as your circumstances haven't changed since you opened the account, the details they have on file will still be correct. Tell them nothing else. Don't be fooled into providing information by the double bluff. This is where they have some details for you (probably just your name and telephone mumber and geographic location), start to read them out to you, and deliberately get them wrong. Without thinking, you automatically correct them and then they have your details for what ever purpose they chose.

As oneeyedvic says, ask them to write to you confirming their request. That'll sort out the bogus callers from the genuine ones.

[gsxr1100tony]

Hi i know someone that did give their details to someone they thought was from their bank, they gave them their details and wooh behold, �2,500 was taken from his account, so no its not rude!!!