Heartland

I've just had a very odd phone call in work:

Woman: Can I speak to Mark Wolstenholme please?

Me: Speaking, how can I help?

Woman: As a security measure, can you just confirm your postcode and the first line of your address please?

Me: I'm sorry, but what's this about?

Woman: Can you just confirm your postcode and the first line of your address first please?

Me: Well, no actually. I'm not going to give out my personal information to someone who has just called me out of the blue.

Woman: I am calling on behalf of someone.

Me: Who?

Woman: Can I have your postcode and the first line of your address please?

Me: No you can't. Like I said, I'm not going to give you personal information about me when I don't know who you are.

Woman: OK, bye. <hangs up>



Am I wrong to think that this is a scam, in that if I give her the first line of my address and my postcode, she'll then be able to pull up the rest of my address from mailing-list software, thereby making it seem that she already had this information (Although in my case, the rest of my address apart from the first line and postcode is "Leeds" )

The fact that she wouldn't say where she was calling from is dodgy too I think.

I'm guessing that if I hadn't been so suspicious, she would have asked me for some credit card or bank details, and I'd have woken up tomorrow with no money in my account. Or am I too paranoid?

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they ain't all out to get you.

Well despatched Sir. Always end with a flourish though. 'F**k off' usually does it.

That sound very dodgy.

I hate cold callers like that. First thing to do is ask them for their full name and home phone number, when they refuse ask for the manager's details, when they refuse those ask to speak to the manager, typically they can't refuse you this, but his means tying up their phone lines and slowing them down.

It's not a permanent solution but it does give them a taste of their own medicine.

I got an email about this recently. IIRC they then claim to be from your credit card co and say that you have just had a large payment made from your account. Essentially, I think that they already have your cc no. and are just trying to get your confirmation code, which they ask for later in the call.

I'll try and put the full text of the email up later, if you're interested...

It is probably not a scam

The oft trotted out “Data Protection� is usually behind it.

The agent is told to confirm they are speaking to the relevant party before divulging any information. Logic, it may break data protection regulations for a third party to find out you bank with HSBC.

Some doctor surgeries are now using this; however it is normally financial services or utilities. I refuse to cooperation with this ludicrous dross. If they won’t tell me who they are, why should I confirm who I am? They them have to follow it up with a letter

Might be an idea to check all your payments are up to date.

The odd thing is that they called on work's phone, a number I have never given to anyone in a non-work-related context,* rather than my mobile.

I've seen a similar e-mail warning to the one limur plus I'm naturally suspicious.

Even if it's not a scam,

Ed Rhombus wrote:I refuse to cooperation with this ludicrous dross. If they won’t tell me who they are, why should I confirm who I am?

hits the nail on the head.

* Caveat: Never as far as I can remember...

It may have been the "postcode scam" I've heard about.You give them your post code they can figure out you address (phone book etc.).They then know you're at your work and the chances are your house is empty, and it soon will be emptied.
Even if the above is a pile of tosh,you did the right thing.

Well, if that were the case, good luck to them getting past the dogfiend. He's a vicious beastie to people he doesn't know.

Paranoia??

Don't get me started on it..

Been a wreck the past week thanks to Polish speed..

had spiders in the curtains and the police in the squat two nights on the trot..

ended up putting tape round my door frame on Monday night to stop them looking in the room..

I would say that I'd quit drugs but I know it was only the speed what did it..

time to lay off it methinks..

I've just spent several minutes looking at your avatar, Gottdammerung.

I hate things like that too. I had a salesman call at my house last thursday from Talk Talk telling me that as a BT customer I qualified for a line rental discount with Talk Talk and all I needed to do was to let him in and show him my phone bills - f**k off! fink I'm stupit or summat?

Gottdammerung wrote:had spiders in the curtains and the police in the squat two nights on the trot..

ended up putting tape round my door frame on Monday night to stop them looking in the room..

The police or the spiders?

Planet Dave wrote:Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they ain't all out to get you.

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they are out to get you either. Or are they?

On a serious note, you were smart in not giving any information without being sure who you are speaking to. If it was genuinely a bank / credit card company / phone company or whatever, they'll send you a letter.

On a "do they honestly think I'm mental" note, it makes me think of a (as far as I'm aware fairly reputable) music company in the States, whose 'security' policy dictated that they would only accept credit card orders from outside North America if you first sent them "a copy of the front and back of your credit card and a copy of your drivers license, passport, or other form of picture identification". I don't f**king think so!

boudicca wrote:

Gottdammerung wrote:had spiders in the curtains and the police in the squat two nights on the trot..

ended up putting tape round my door frame on Monday night to stop them looking in the room..

The police or the spiders?

Actually I'm not 100% sure..


The spiders were on my curtain rails above the bed and the police were trying to cut out the door frame to my room using something like a welding torch (with wood!?!? wtf!?!?!!..)




Needless to say I am NOT going anywhere near polish speed for a long time.. give me fricking horse tranquilizer any day of the week..




-------------------------------------

Dark wrote:I've just spent several minutes looking at your avatar, Gottdammerung.

Ja, tis one of my better ones.. I could have spent hours looking at it one Monday night.. (anything to take my mind off the spiders... lol..)

Sounds like the procedure used by Debt Collectors, but we always divulged our company name when asked.......

markfiend wrote:I've just had a very odd phone call in work:

Woman: Can I speak to Mark Wolstenholme please?

Me: Speaking, how can I help?

Woman: As a security measure, can you just confirm your postcode and the first line of your address please?

Me: I'm sorry, but what's this about?

Woman: Can you just confirm your postcode and the first line of your address first please?

Me: Well, no actually. I'm not going to give out my personal information to someone who has just called me out of the blue.

Woman: I am calling on behalf of someone.

Me: Who?

Woman: Can I have your postcode and the first line of your address please?

Me: No you can't. Like I said, I'm not going to give you personal information about me when I don't know who you are.

Woman: OK, bye. <hangs up>



Am I wrong to think that this is a scam, in that if I give her the first line of my address and my postcode, she'll then be able to pull up the rest of my address from mailing-list software, thereby making it seem that she already had this information (Although in my case, the rest of my address apart from the first line and postcode is "Leeds" )

The fact that she wouldn't say where she was calling from is dodgy too I think.

I'm guessing that if I hadn't been so suspicious, she would have asked me for some credit card or bank details, and I'd have woken up tomorrow with no money in my account. Or am I too paranoid?

You should be paranoid. I use to do things like that on the phone just to see how much information I could get out of somebody.

I once got credit card numbers.

nick the stripper wrote:You should be paranoid. I use to do things like that on the phone just to see how much information I could get out of somebody.

I once got credit card numbers.

And did you use 'em?

Dark wrote:I've just spent several minutes looking at your avatar, Gottdammerung.

Well at least that one isn't going to put me off my Weetabix.

boudicca wrote:

nick the stripper wrote:You should be paranoid. I use to do things like that on the phone just to see how much information I could get out of somebody.

I once got credit card numbers.

And did you use 'em?

No. But I did use a man's library card number. </badass>

Andrew S wrote:

Dark wrote:I've just spent several minutes looking at your avatar, Gottdammerung.

Well at least that one isn't going to put me off my Weetabix.

Just be grateful I didnt use the Christmas version of "Domo does weetabix"....

I was reading something the other day about how folk in Britain generally take the word of someone in authority, eg fake uniforms/id badges and folk won't bat an eyelid about giving out info. The suggestion was that you always make a call to check the persons ID (don't ask them for the phone number tho'!) - and if it's a phone call you receive, don't give them any info...ask them to write to you instead.

I don't think you're paranoid - but next time as them to hold on and just put the phone in your drawer. p*ss them off if they won't tell you who they are. It's amazing how banks etc are alway going on about security but expect you to sign up for all sorts of pish when they phone you...without you having any way of proving who they are!!

Completely off-topic, but limur's avatar is fantastic.