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Dear Sir,


Are you the owner of this email address? if yes,then we are not sure you received our previous message but once again we wish to congratulate and inform you that after thorough review of all unclaimed lottery prize money,inheritance funds,contract funds,etc in conjunction with the 2014 World Bank's auditors report, your payment file was forwarded to our office for the immediate transfer of the above quoted amount to your bank account, from their offshore account with us.

The audit reports shows that you have been going through hard times by paying a lot of money to certain groups of individuals and banks for the transfer of your outstanding funds, which has been delayed by some dubious officials.

We therefore advice that you stop further communication with any correspondence outside this office since you do not have to pay any money or fee to receive your
funds as you have met up with the whole funds transfer requirements.

Should you follow our directives, your funds will be credited to your bank account within the next three (3) bank working days.

For further details on this funds transfer notice and to protect the confidentiality of your information,kindly send your TELEPHONE number by email today.


Yours sincerely,

Mrs.Natasha Gardner
Financial Conduct Authority
25 N.Colonnade, Canary Wharf,London E145HS,UK

So yeah, seems legit.
I have some phone numbers I'm willing to give them. But not through my own email address...

The address checks out but that's easy to do.
There does appear to be a Natasha Gardner who works for RBS however.
A quick google search for World Bank Auditors leads me straight to an FAQ by the World Bank claiming people pretend to be their auditors to scam people.

Not saying it isn't legit but I don't think it is.




That said i've been wrong before.
Did find this though, http://www.419scam.org/emails/2014-08/14/00015627.119.htm

I am pretty sure all these kind of mails are fake.
I don't think banks contact people by mail for things like that, nor ask for telephone numbers (aren't they supposed to have that already if you are a customer with them? And how come they got your e-mail adress but not your phone number?)

Maybe I should have put in a "turn on your sarcasm detector" warning.

If you wanted sarcasm that added part on the end was poorly done.

Ok, its a new one in the Uk at least.

The name and adress is legit and connected to an established institution, which is why the email address probably does not.

In fact the email address may well be for someone in Nigeria or other countries that pull these types of scams.

As they are asking for phone numbers of potential maga then the point of the scam may well be to collect phone numbers of gullible maga for sale to other scammers. The contact details of a vulnerable mugu is expensive information, scammers will trade this info and part of the 419 business is in brokerage of maga to prospective scammers. Any one responding to rthe email in the OP with their phone number proves gullibility and thus becomes a prime target and a good trade.

Some scams are obvious for this reason, to highlight especially unaware maga for sale to other players.

Give them the numbers of all your ex's.

Saying "seems legit" after an obvious scam email isn't the world's best example of sarcasm, I agree, but there's only so much sarcasm I'm capable of after a 14-hr work day starting at 4:45 in the morning.

Anyway, yeah, I was considering giving them the phone numbers of a couple of "colleagues" with a penchant for backstabbing, but it would mean confirming that my e-mail address is legit. Not worth it.

Also, I am a) Dutch, and don't have accounts with any UK banks, never mind the World Bank, and b) the e-mail address was *randomlettercombination"@yahoo.co.jp . So, Japan?

Since this appears to be a real person working for a bank whose name is used (presumably without her knowledge or consent) I am now seriously considering contacting the real Mrs. Gardner and her bank to inform them of this.

Or maybe I could troll them and give them a fake phone number and fake bank account number when they inevitably follow up and ask for them. Then claim to be from Angola and wanting to secure some of my funds from seizure by the corrupt government. I'll just need them to deposit some (not so) small amount of money into an account first to confirm their legitimacy...
I am actually in Angola right now, so I could give them a local phone number. Hmmm. Some possibilities arising here, methinks...

As this is my field, I'll weigh in here: Yes it's fake. The FCA don't do gak like this. Certain banks are running proactive redress projects, however those are for products and accounts that you hold (or have held) with the bank in question, and they would NEVER just email out of the blue.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
What I will say is this: If you follow their instructions, you will probably get some money. It will, however, be dirty money. You're account will be suspended instantly and you'd probably never be allowed to work in financial services for the rest of your life. People think this stuff is a scam to steal your money or identity, but its usually not. It's to launder the proceeds of crime. They transfer a few grand into your account and tell you you can keep some of it once you've transferred the rest back to them. Happened to a guy I work with. On the plus side, he got £2k and I hear McDonald's treat their employees pretty nicely.

Banks almost never email anything other than the most generic communication. Anything specific like this is sent by post. If you're asked to do anything by email it's always a scam.

 Howard A Treesong wrote:
Banks almost never email anything other than the most generic communication. Anything specific like this is sent by post. If you're asked to do anything by email it's always a scam.

This. My own bank will send monthly "your statement is ready" emails that instruct you to log in, but provides no link to log in. There was a scam where people were using my bank to basically do this, but they'd provide a link and it would look EXACTLY like the real bank, only when you logged in you had basically just sent all your info to whoever set up the email, the "dummy page" would load and redirect you to your actual account (which you usually had to log in again), but by then it was too late.

My rule is never to reply to or give security information to anyone who asks for it unless I have contacted them first (e.g. if I ring up for phone banking, or order something on a web site.)

 Kilkrazy wrote:
My rule is never to reply to or give security information to anyone who asks for it unless I have contacted them first (e.g. if I ring up for phone banking, or order something on a web site.)

Precisely.... Kinda funny story. So, my parents are what you might call "habitual shoppers". By this I mean that if they are buying fuel for the car, it is at the same station, every time; If they are buying wine, or golf clubs, computers, etc. they ALWAYS use the same store for each item (and by same store, I mean same location). So, a few months ago, on a short trip, my parents decided that the deal on some golfing equipment was too good to pass up, and bought it. A couple days later, my dad gets a call from the bank for potential fraud on his card. What, for many people is a 5-10 minute phone call, was for him, a 30-45 minute Q/A session that went something like:

B: "Hi, we're from So and So Bank, am I speaking to [Dad]?"
D: "yes"
B: we're calling about some recent activity on your card, but first we need to verify that you are the account holder
D: Umm... OK
B: Can you verify your address and date of birth?
D: Can't you tell me?
B: Yes, but we need you to verify for us, so that we know we're talking to the right person.
D: Well, I know who I am, who are you?
B: We're the bank...Can you tell us your address and DOB?
D: you already have it, why should I tell you?
B: because we need to verify that you are you...
D: OK, how about you verify that you are you
B: Sir, that isn't how this works...
D: Well, you called me, so how do I know who you are?


It went on and on like this, until the manager was gotten, and the manager basically "confirmed" my parent's most often used branch, as well as a recent purchase to "prove" that they were the bank. At the end of the "fraudulent purchases" business, the manager lauded my dad's natural suspicion because, as he put it, "Most people just trust us outright when we identify as the bank".

Bran Dawri wrote:

Dear Sir,


Are you the owner of this email address? if yes,then we are not sure you received our previous message but once again we wish to congratulate and inform you that after thorough review of all unclaimed lottery prize money,inheritance funds,contract funds,etc in conjunction with the 2014 World Bank's auditors report, your payment file was forwarded to our office for the immediate transfer of the above quoted amount to your bank account, from their offshore account with us.

The audit reports shows that you have been going through hard times by paying a lot of money to certain groups of individuals and banks for the transfer of your outstanding funds, which has been delayed by some dubious officials.

We therefore advice that you stop further communication with any correspondence outside this office since you do not have to pay any money or fee to receive your
funds as you have met up with the whole funds transfer requirements.

Should you follow our directives, your funds will be credited to your bank account within the next three (3) bank working days.

For further details on this funds transfer notice and to protect the confidentiality of your information,kindly send your TELEPHONE number by email today.


Yours sincerely,

Mrs.Natasha Gardner
Financial Conduct Authority
25 N.Colonnade, Canary Wharf,London E145HS,UK

So yeah, seems legit.
I have some phone numbers I'm willing to give them. But not through my own email address...

seems legit other than the fact its a bank offering to give you free money, which is the only fact you should consider.

obviously you should give them your account info and get all that free cash bro!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/419_scams

http://www.419eater.com/

some of the 419 eater things are funny, one guy kept a nigerian scammer going for over month, and got 50 bucks out of the nigerian, which is a lot of money over there. Not to mention bus rides to a place that has a PC with internet, plus they often have to pay for hourly internet use.

However be careful the 419 scam has resulted in people being killed, as they went so far as to go to Nigeria to get the final money transaction...

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:
My rule is never to reply to or give security information to anyone who asks for it unless I have contacted them first (e.g. if I ring up for phone banking, or order something on a web site.)

Precisely.... Kinda funny story. So, my parents are what you might call "habitual shoppers". By this I mean that if they are buying fuel for the car, it is at the same station, every time; If they are buying wine, or golf clubs, computers, etc. they ALWAYS use the same store for each item (and by same store, I mean same location). So, a few months ago, on a short trip, my parents decided that the deal on some golfing equipment was too good to pass up, and bought it. A couple days later, my dad gets a call from the bank for potential fraud on his card. What, for many people is a 5-10 minute phone call, was for him, a 30-45 minute Q/A session that went something like:

B: "Hi, we're from So and So Bank, am I speaking to [Dad]?"
D: "yes"
B: we're calling about some recent activity on your card, but first we need to verify that you are the account holder
D: Umm... OK
B: Can you verify your address and date of birth?
D: Can't you tell me?
B: Yes, but we need you to verify for us, so that we know we're talking to the right person.
D: Well, I know who I am, who are you?
B: We're the bank...Can you tell us your address and DOB?
D: you already have it, why should I tell you?
B: because we need to verify that you are you...
D: OK, how about you verify that you are you
B: Sir, that isn't how this works...
D: Well, you called me, so how do I know who you are?


It went on and on like this, until the manager was gotten, and the manager basically "confirmed" my parent's most often used branch, as well as a recent purchase to "prove" that they were the bank. At the end of the "fraudulent purchases" business, the manager lauded my dad's natural suspicion because, as he put it, "Most people just trust us outright when we identify as the bank".

Yes, I had a similar experience. I refused to answer their security questions until they had adequately identified themselves to me which naturally they were not able to do. They got quite angry actually and I told them to send me a letter.

 Kilkrazy wrote:
My rule is never to reply to or give security information to anyone who asks for it unless I have contacted them first (e.g. if I ring up for phone banking, or order something on a web site.)

People like you make my job needlessly difficult.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Kilkrazy wrote:

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:
My rule is never to reply to or give security information to anyone who asks for it unless I have contacted them first (e.g. if I ring up for phone banking, or order something on a web site.)

Precisely.... Kinda funny story. So, my parents are what you might call "habitual shoppers". By this I mean that if they are buying fuel for the car, it is at the same station, every time; If they are buying wine, or golf clubs, computers, etc. they ALWAYS use the same store for each item (and by same store, I mean same location). So, a few months ago, on a short trip, my parents decided that the deal on some golfing equipment was too good to pass up, and bought it. A couple days later, my dad gets a call from the bank for potential fraud on his card. What, for many people is a 5-10 minute phone call, was for him, a 30-45 minute Q/A session that went something like:

B: "Hi, we're from So and So Bank, am I speaking to [Dad]?"
D: "yes"
B: we're calling about some recent activity on your card, but first we need to verify that you are the account holder
D: Umm... OK
B: Can you verify your address and date of birth?
D: Can't you tell me?
B: Yes, but we need you to verify for us, so that we know we're talking to the right person.
D: Well, I know who I am, who are you?
B: We're the bank...Can you tell us your address and DOB?
D: you already have it, why should I tell you?
B: because we need to verify that you are you...
D: OK, how about you verify that you are you
B: Sir, that isn't how this works...
D: Well, you called me, so how do I know who you are?


It went on and on like this, until the manager was gotten, and the manager basically "confirmed" my parent's most often used branch, as well as a recent purchase to "prove" that they were the bank. At the end of the "fraudulent purchases" business, the manager lauded my dad's natural suspicion because, as he put it, "Most people just trust us outright when we identify as the bank".

Yes, I had a similar experience. I refused to answer their security questions until they had adequately identified themselves to me which naturally they were not able to do. They got quite angry actually and I told them to send me a letter.

See, this is what's so annoying about that sort of behaviour - the smugness. It always seems to be the older generation and they always seem so pleased with themselves. I have my theories on that, but I won't go into it here.

ID&V checks are there for YOUR security! You'd be the first to complain if I called some random stranger up and started discussing the finer details of your product holdings with them. There's nothing the person on the other end can really do to identify themselves as being from your bank with breaching the Data Protection act. I'm not even allowed to tell people why I'm calling them.

 Albatross wrote:


ID&V checks are there for YOUR security! You'd be the first to complain if I called some random stranger up and started discussing the finer details of your product holdings with them. There's nothing the person on the other end can really do to identify themselves as being from your bank with breaching the Data Protection act. I'm not even allowed to tell people why I'm calling them.

Frankly, I'd do exactly the same thing though. If my bank calls me to talk to me about my account, I have no way of verifying that it is indeed, actually the bank. Phone phishers work exactly the same way. The bank needs to be able to tell me information pertaining to my account which only they should have before I'd begin to give any details of mine. If they're not willing to do that over the phone, they need to invite me to my local branch for a meeting.

ID checks are a two way street, because scammers work both ends of the metaphorical street. Being able to call a bank pretending to be a customer does not preclude being able to call a customer pretending to be a bank.

 Ketara wrote:

 Albatross wrote:


ID&V checks are there for YOUR security! You'd be the first to complain if I called some random stranger up and started discussing the finer details of your product holdings with them. There's nothing the person on the other end can really do to identify themselves as being from your bank with breaching the Data Protection act. I'm not even allowed to tell people why I'm calling them.

Frankly, I'd do exactly the same thing though. If my bank calls me to talk to me about my account, I have no way of verifying that it is indeed, actually the bank. Phone phishers work exactly the same way. The bank needs to be able to tell me information pertaining to my account which only they should have before I'd begin to give any details of mine. If they're not willing to do that over the phone, they need to invite me to my local branch for a meeting.

ID checks are a two way street, because scammers work both ends of the metaphorical street. Being able to call a bank pretending to be a customer does not preclude being able to call a customer pretending to be a bank.

I guess I'm lucky in that my bank, and my phone's Caller ID match up (as in, when the bank calls it doesn't say, RESTRICTED NUMBER... It shows the actual number, and after being with them for around 10 years, I kinda recognize the number)

Also, just for giggles, a buddy of mine told me what his "secret question was"... and it's pretty obvious if it's really the bank or not when they ask, "What are you wearing?"

 Ketara wrote:

 Albatross wrote:


ID&V checks are there for YOUR security! You'd be the first to complain if I called some random stranger up and started discussing the finer details of your product holdings with them. There's nothing the person on the other end can really do to identify themselves as being from your bank with breaching the Data Protection act. I'm not even allowed to tell people why I'm calling them.

Frankly, I'd do exactly the same thing though. If my bank calls me to talk to me about my account, I have no way of verifying that it is indeed, actually the bank. Phone phishers work exactly the same way.

No, they don't. A Bank would only ask you to reveal information about yourself that would be on the electoral roll anyway. I literally can't think of any way in which I would be able to harm you with your name, DOB and postcode. I mean, if I'm calling you, presumably I already have your phone number - that's way more private than anything the bank would ask you for when performing ID&V checks.

The bank needs to be able to tell me information pertaining to my account which only they should have before I'd begin to give any details of mine. If they're not willing to do that over the phone, they need to invite me to my local branch for a meeting.

Cool, in the meantime you've exceeded your overdraft limit and are accruing charges because of a fraudulent transaction. But hey, it's the fifties, right? Just put on your Sunday best and pop down to the branch on your way to the haberdasher.

You do realise you're basically saying the bank should compromise your data so that they can verify your identity in order to protect your data, yes?

ID checks are a two way street, because scammers work both ends of the metaphorical street. Being able to call a bank pretending to be a customer does not preclude being able to call a customer pretending to be a bank.

Thing is though, someone calls you on your phone number, asks for you by name and identifies themselves specifically as representing a bank of which you are a customer and you don't trust them enough to tell them your full name, DOB and postcode? What do you think is going to happen?



Ugh. I hate retail banking. The public are such idiots. I can't wait to start my new job.

 Albatross wrote:

No, they don't. A Bank would only ask you to reveal information about yourself that would be on the electoral roll anyway. I literally can't think of any way in which I would be able to harm you with your name, DOB and postcode. I mean, if I'm calling you, presumably I already have your phone number - that's way more private than anything the bank would ask you for when performing ID&V checks.

Alright. PM me your phone number, DOB, address and full name, and we'll see how many ways I can screw with you. I can think of several without even trying. Most of them aren't fraud related (not being a fraudster and all), but it should serve as an example as to what even the most innocuous of information can do if given out to people who don't have your best intentions at heart.

EDIT: On second thoughts, I'll withdraw that challenge, on the basis that I quite frankly don't want to screw with you in the ways that I've already come up with (and it would also be something of a hassle to boot). I like you Alb, and the last thing you need are five unwanted pizza deliveries a day, visits by embarassing escort services, business cold callings,being locked out of multiple web accounts, etc.

Can we just agree that bad things can be done with personal details generally?

Cool, in the meantime you've exceeded your overdraft limit and are accruing charges because of a fraudulent transaction. But hey, it's the fifties, right? Just put on your Sunday best and pop down to the branch on your way to the haberdasher.

Any charges resulting from a fradulent transaction would be refunded to me in short order, no doubt. I've had it happen, and the bank very quickly rectified the issue, because I did nothing wrong, leaked no details, and the bank has insurance to cover that sort of thing/enough money to make up the shortfall themselves.

If the bank is really needing my attention that quickly, there are ways and means for me to confirm whatever they tell me. If they say they have a suspect transaction on my account, they're breaking absolutely no data protection issues (and indeed, that was how my experience went in the previous example), and I can quickly check my bank account via the web. It being the fifties and all, y'know?

You do realise you're basically saying the bank should compromise your data so that they can verify your identity in order to protect your data, yes?

No. I'm saying they should be able to tell me something that only they could know before I start surrendering details. In one of the earlier examples given by someone else, the bank mentioned some recent purchases made. That sort of information is the kind of information a fraudster wouldn't have, but couldn't hurt me or the bank if mentioned over the phone. Alternatively, you could ask to call them back at their local branch on a landline number affiliated with a branch at a specific address, There are ways and means to circumvent any real issues that can be devised within about thirty seconds by anyone with half a brain.

 Albatross wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:
My rule is never to reply to or give security information to anyone who asks for it unless I have contacted them first (e.g. if I ring up for phone banking, or order something on a web site.)

People like you make my job needlessly difficult.

This demands some expansion, why does this make your job needlessly difficult?

 Albatross wrote:

ID&V checks are there for YOUR security! You'd be the first to complain if I called some random stranger up and started discussing the finer details of your product holdings with them. There's nothing the person on the other end can really do to identify themselves as being from your bank with breaching the Data Protection act. I'm not even allowed to tell people why I'm calling them.

I get cold called from my energy supplier or bank etc everry now and then. They call me and then ask me for myvsecurity code. Hold on, YOU called ME, I know who I am , who are you?
If we are supposed to make peoles live easy and hand over those details when asked you open the window to a great scam.

Hello I am from your bank with important info, but first can I have the your security details to verify we are talking to the right people.
Sorry. with regarss to business calls, I have no way of knowing if I am actually talking to who I am supposedly talking to unless I called them or am expecting the call.

 Ketara wrote:

 Albatross wrote:

No, they don't. A Bank would only ask you to reveal information about yourself that would be on the electoral roll anyway. I literally can't think of any way in which I would be able to harm you with your name, DOB and postcode. I mean, if I'm calling you, presumably I already have your phone number - that's way more private than anything the bank would ask you for when performing ID&V checks.

Alright. PM me your phone number, DOB, address and full name, and we'll see how many ways I can screw with you. I can think of several without even trying. Most of them aren't fraud related (not being a fraudster and all), but it should serve as an example as to what even the most innocuous of information can do if given out to people who don't have your best intentions at heart.

EDIT: On second thoughts, I'll withdraw that challenge, on the basis that I quite frankly don't want to screw with you in the ways that I've already come up with (and it would also be something of a hassle to boot). I like you Alb, and the last thing you need are five unwanted pizza deliveries a day, visits by embarassing escort services, business cold callings,being locked out of multiple web accounts, etc.

Except, you need my phone number for all of that, which the person calling already has. What can you realistically hope to achieve with a person's DOB and postcode? I'm genuinely curious. And incidentally you're missing my point - if I was able to get your name and telephone number, do I really need to call you up to steal your DOB and postcode?

You do realise you're basically saying the bank should compromise your data so that they can verify your identity in order to protect your data, yes?

No. I'm saying they should be able to tell me something that only they could know before I start surrendering details. In one of the earlier examples given by someone else, the bank mentioned some recent purchases made. That sort of information is the kind of information a fraudster wouldn't have, but couldn't hurt me or the bank if mentioned over the phone. Alternatively, you could ask to call them back at their local branch on a landline number affiliated with a branch at a specific address, There are ways and means to circumvent any real issues that can be devised within about thirty seconds by anyone with half a brain.

We can sit here batting imaginary scenarios back and forth all night, but the point I'm making is none of that makes your (or my) life any easier. Telephone fraudsters aren't phoning people up to steal their postcodes and DOBs, that's just silliness. Just answer the fething questions. They are checks. If you're THAT worried about it, just give your DOB or post code wrong. Then when it doesn't match, the person will say 'that doesn't match' and you'll know it's a check. Jee-zus!

I mean, calling them back from a branch!



Heh. Yeah, is anyone picking up on the fact I hate my job, at all?

 Albatross wrote:

Except, you need my phone number for all of that, which the person calling already has. What can you realistically hope to achieve with a person's DOB and postcode? I'm genuinely curious. And incidentally you're missing my point - if I was able to get your name and telephone number, do I really need to call you up to steal your DOB and postcode?

Your phone number is almost irrelevant. Like I said, I can cause all kinds of mischief with your address/name. I can arrange for the aforementioned pizza deliveries/escort services to show up at your house for the lulz at will. Bondage catalogues in the post, ebay purchases where the cash exchange is meant to happen at your residence, the list is endless. If I really really hated you, I'd be putting in anonymous tips to the police about drug stashes at your residence, or supposed gunshots, or arranging large teenage parties on facebook scheduled for your address.

You might think to yourself, 'who would hate me enough to start that sort of thing', but God only knows there are people out there who I know would do it to me if they knew where I lived. I'm assuming its the same for most people, everyone makes enemies in life.

With your date of birth on top? I'd wager I could blag my way into your paypal account if you have one, scammers fast talk their way past telephone customer service people all the time. 'Oh I'm terribly sorry Mr Paypal customer services man, but I seem to have forgotten my password. I do have my address and my Date of Birth, if that helps at all?' Or perhaps your email? I'm sure I could track down what provider you were using and do the same thing. If I manage to compromise enough of your online presence, its not far to me being able to start ordering things to empty houses nearby for pickup at my leisure.

It sounds farfetched, but again, it's happened before, and will probably happen again. It's unlikely. But all takes is one new person in the customer service call centre, a particularly convincing act, and as much of your personal data as I can glean, and it could be you. This is without even taking into account the possibility of criminals cross-referencing things. Credit/debit card details are freely available online for purchase, if your debit card happens to be on one of those lists, and I then acquire more personal information of yours, the possibilities begin to multiply.

As another scenario, with your name, address, DOB, and phone number, I'm not far off the information I need to take out a credit card in your name. There are plenty of the things available online. Not only that, if I now have your address, I'm in a position to come around and rummage through your bin until I have more information of yours from old statements and utility bills. Combine that with a convincing fake ID, and I 'm perfectly positioned for identity theft.

To reiterate a third time, these things are rare. They don't happen much. But every bit of information you give away makes it easier for someone to acquire more information on you, or do more damage to you.

We can sit here batting imaginary scenarios back and forth all night, but the point I'm making is none of that makes your (or my) life any easier. Telephone fraudsters aren't phoning people up to steal their postcodes and DOBs, that's just silliness. Just answer the fething questions. They are checks. If you're THAT worried about it, just give your DOB or post code wrong. Then when it doesn't match, the person will say 'that doesn't match' and you'll know it's a check. Jee-zus!

Just out of interest, if you called me, asked me for my DOB and address, and was given the wrong ones, would you believe me afterwards if I want 'Ahah, I was testing you!' Or would you get suspicious?

Heh. Yeah, is anyone picking up on the fact I hate my job, at all?

Maybe just a teensy bit.

 Ketara wrote:

We can sit here batting imaginary scenarios back and forth all night, but the point I'm making is none of that makes your (or my) life any easier. Telephone fraudsters aren't phoning people up to steal their postcodes and DOBs, that's just silliness. Just answer the fething questions. They are checks. If you're THAT worried about it, just give your DOB or post code wrong. Then when it doesn't match, the person will say 'that doesn't match' and you'll know it's a check. Jee-zus!

Just out of interest, if you called me, asked me for my DOB and address, and was given the wrong ones, would you believe me afterwards if I want 'Ahah, I was testing you!' Or would you get suspicious?

I'd think you were a fething nutjob, mate! You don't have to play it like a cartoon villain, you could just pretend to have mis-spoken. I'd just check something else. Though in all honesty, it's really no skin off my nose if you decide not to talk to me. If I'm calling you, it's because you've complained to the bank and I'm trying to interview you, yet stupidly, people refuse to speak to the person deciding whether or not they get potentially thousands of pounds in compensation. Those people essentially kiss that money goodbye by hanging up the phone.

Anyway, I digress. You've still not really addressed my point: If I was able to get your name, number and who you bank with, how have I not been able to find your DOB and postcode? Why am I calling you up, risking alerting you to the potential fraud? Trust me, they don't need to do that, experience (let's just say 'a friend of a friend' and leave it there) tells me that if they're calling you, they already have that info. I personally think you're fairly paranoid.

Heh. Yeah, is anyone picking up on the fact I hate my job, at all?

Maybe just a teensy bit.

Yeah, I absolutely hate it (because I absolutely hate the public) but it pays well. Thankfully, I'm making the jump to investment banking next month, subject to vetting. Hallelujah.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Orlanth wrote:

 Albatross wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:
My rule is never to reply to or give security information to anyone who asks for it unless I have contacted them first (e.g. if I ring up for phone banking, or order something on a web site.)

People like you make my job needlessly difficult.

This demands some expansion, why does this make your job needlessly difficult?

Because getting into pointless arguments with fools is a waste of my precious time. At work, anyway!

 Albatross wrote:

ID&V checks are there for YOUR security! You'd be the first to complain if I called some random stranger up and started discussing the finer details of your product holdings with them. There's nothing the person on the other end can really do to identify themselves as being from your bank with breaching the Data Protection act. I'm not even allowed to tell people why I'm calling them.

I get cold called from my energy supplier or bank etc everry now and then. They call me and then ask me for myvsecurity code. Hold on, YOU called ME, I know who I am , who are you?
If we are supposed to make peoles live easy and hand over those details when asked you open the window to a great scam.

Hello I am from your bank with important info, but first can I have the your security details to verify we are talking to the right people.
Sorry. with regarss to business calls, I have no way of knowing if I am actually talking to who I am supposedly talking to unless I called them or am expecting the call.

It doesn't go down like that though. With me it's 'Hi, my name's Alan Batross and I'm calling from DakkaBank, is that Mr Orlando Th? I'm just calling in response to some recent correspondence we've received, just for a little follow-up call. Do you have 5 minutes for a quick chat? Great. Mr Th, to proceed with the call, and for your security, as I will be discussing aspects of your personal finances, could you please confirm your full name? And your date of birth? And finally your postcode?

Honestly, people aren't cold-calling you to steal your identity. Call centres are expensive. They'd cold-call you to steal your money, and if they're calling you it's because you are a lead. If you're a lead they all ready know your name, number, address, DOB, occupation etc.