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Well, that was actually almost nerve-wracking.
I discovered I somehow missed a call a few hours ago, and they left a message. I figured it may be the landlord telling me my bathtub drain was fixed. Listening, I find out it's my bank, asking me to call them back. They leave a reference number and a number to call. No mention as to what it's about. Weird callback number (877, usually my bank's 800 or 888)
I call the number, and my suspicions are instantly aroused. They have the standard greeting, but it sounds odd. Like someone had held up a microphone to the phone and recorded it. Then there was no hold music. My bank Always has hold music.
Wait a second. The automated system didn't ask me for my card number. Wtf? Lady comes on the line. I tell her I got a call, and I have a reference number, and could she tell me what the call was in regards to. After I give her the reference number, I'm put on hold for an extraordinarily long time as she 'pulls up the file.' Again, no hold music. When she finally comes back on, she asks me for my telephone banking password. I tell her I don't have one. Then she asks if I have a password set up. That was the absolute final strike. Every time I call in, and tell them I don't have one, they just instantly say "I see you have a password set up, can you tell me what it is?" At this point, I turn to turtle mode. "Sorry, but can you tell me what this call is about first? Just a general idea? There's no reason you should have called me, so I'd like some sort of idea." "Not until you verify first." "Nuh uh." "I need you to verify before I can tell you anything." "Yeah, but I can't verify who YOU are." "I can ask you some questions instead, if you'd prefer." "No. I'm not answering any questions until I'm sure about this. Maybe I'll just go to the branch and figure this out instead." "You can do that." "Fine, I will." "*insert spiel which I didn't listen to as I was too busy hanging up*"
Now, at first, I may come off like just another asshole SC. That's why I now bring you part TWO of the story.
I call the regular telephone customer service number. Everything's fine with them. I go through normal verification. They can't see any flags on my account or any such. They do tell me that I can move some money from my RRSP savings account to a 5 year high-interest account, that may have been it. Then they transfer me over to Visa, to see if maybe it was them who called, because there's really no notes on my account about having been called, so I should check with them. I'm transfered to their Visa department. Same deal. Verify, continue. Told I'm eligible for an upgrade to my card, but there wasn't any note on my account about being called. So for the heck of it, I get upgraded to a Platinum Visa. Just because it's shiny. Oh, it's also Chip and Pin, too, as my old one was just mag stripe.
Okay, so neither of them apparently called. But the telephone banking lady gave me a "outbound call customer confidence" number, which you use to verify if someone from the bank really did call you. I figure, 'might as well call them too, just in case.' I do, normal banking verification, so it's all good. Then when I tell them that I got a call, they say there's no notes on my account, and the number that I was called from, and that I was given are not appearing in her database of legitimate numbers, and she'll be forwarding the info to her supervisor.
aHA! Vindicated! And hopefully, a scammer soon to be shut down.
I discovered I somehow missed a call a few hours ago, and they left a message. I figured it may be the landlord telling me my bathtub drain was fixed. Listening, I find out it's my bank, asking me to call them back. They leave a reference number and a number to call. No mention as to what it's about. Weird callback number (877, usually my bank's 800 or 888)
I call the number, and my suspicions are instantly aroused. They have the standard greeting, but it sounds odd. Like someone had held up a microphone to the phone and recorded it. Then there was no hold music. My bank Always has hold music.
Wait a second. The automated system didn't ask me for my card number. Wtf? Lady comes on the line. I tell her I got a call, and I have a reference number, and could she tell me what the call was in regards to. After I give her the reference number, I'm put on hold for an extraordinarily long time as she 'pulls up the file.' Again, no hold music. When she finally comes back on, she asks me for my telephone banking password. I tell her I don't have one. Then she asks if I have a password set up. That was the absolute final strike. Every time I call in, and tell them I don't have one, they just instantly say "I see you have a password set up, can you tell me what it is?" At this point, I turn to turtle mode. "Sorry, but can you tell me what this call is about first? Just a general idea? There's no reason you should have called me, so I'd like some sort of idea." "Not until you verify first." "Nuh uh." "I need you to verify before I can tell you anything." "Yeah, but I can't verify who YOU are." "I can ask you some questions instead, if you'd prefer." "No. I'm not answering any questions until I'm sure about this. Maybe I'll just go to the branch and figure this out instead." "You can do that." "Fine, I will." "*insert spiel which I didn't listen to as I was too busy hanging up*"
Now, at first, I may come off like just another asshole SC. That's why I now bring you part TWO of the story.
I call the regular telephone customer service number. Everything's fine with them. I go through normal verification. They can't see any flags on my account or any such. They do tell me that I can move some money from my RRSP savings account to a 5 year high-interest account, that may have been it. Then they transfer me over to Visa, to see if maybe it was them who called, because there's really no notes on my account about having been called, so I should check with them. I'm transfered to their Visa department. Same deal. Verify, continue. Told I'm eligible for an upgrade to my card, but there wasn't any note on my account about being called. So for the heck of it, I get upgraded to a Platinum Visa. Just because it's shiny. Oh, it's also Chip and Pin, too, as my old one was just mag stripe.
Okay, so neither of them apparently called. But the telephone banking lady gave me a "outbound call customer confidence" number, which you use to verify if someone from the bank really did call you. I figure, 'might as well call them too, just in case.' I do, normal banking verification, so it's all good. Then when I tell them that I got a call, they say there's no notes on my account, and the number that I was called from, and that I was given are not appearing in her database of legitimate numbers, and she'll be forwarding the info to her supervisor.
aHA! Vindicated! And hopefully, a scammer soon to be shut down.
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