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Are Your Friends And Family Prepared?
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This could happen to anyone. While some might find humor in pointing out the perceived comedy of this verbal exchange, there are a couple of areas where the humor is left at the door.
- The unknown caller is trying to frighten someone, likely on a fixed income, into giving up very personal information such as his account number to his bank account.
- The unknown caller also appeared to have this individual’s residential address. While this is likely no more than something to frighten the target, it is a bit unnerving to the recipient of such a call.
- The call was recorded. Despite attempting to make sure any Federal wiretap laws were in check by disclosing the fact the call was recorded, trying to play armchair detective without consulting a professional is dangerous these days. Leave wiretapping to the pros.
What is even more disturbing is recently I have been told by a number of people that these sorts of strange calls are becoming more frequent. That is frightening, especially if they happen upon someone who might lack the “finesse” that recipient of the call linked above presents.
So what do you think? Are these types of “phishing” calls a threat that can be compared to similar attacks over the Internet?
2 Comments
Paul Higgins
May 10th, 2008
at 3:45pm
I suppose they might be comparable to internet phishing. Like the guy on the tape, I never give any information out over the phone. All I say when picking up is ‘hello?’ I don’t even tell them my number. And if they ask who they are speaking to, I always refuse to tell them until they tell me who they are.
Another nice tip, for when you get semi-legitimate cold calls (say, a legitimate company trying to sell you something you don’t want and didn’t ask for) is to say ‘excuse me, could you hold? The baby’s crying.’ Or ‘I left a pan on the stove’ or some other excuse. Then go and have a sit in the garden or sort your sock draw while the idiot sits waiting for you to come back. (and if they do wait for 10 or 15 minutes, just hang up!)
Paul Higgins
May 10th, 2008
at 3:50pm
PS
My tip above works better if you show some feigned interest in their product/service. If they think there’s a chance for a sale, they’ll waste ages waiting for you to come back. But they won’t bother you again. At least that’s my experience here in the UK.