Got a very sophisticated scam call the other day. Left a message on my phone saying they were Citi Client First and were calling me about a problem with my accounts. I called the number back, already somewhat suspicious (we stay on top of our accounts and I couldnt imagine what might be amiss), and the woman on the other end identified themselves as Citi Client First and asked me for my name, which I supplied, and then asked me for additional information, which made me suspicious. I asked, Im sorry, but you called me. What is the problem? She said, Im not authorized to tell you what this is about until I can verify your information. We went two rounds of the illogicalness of them calling me, but then needing to verify my information, and I finally said Im sorry, but is this a scam? Indignantly she said This is Citibank. You will just have to wait until youre contacted again to learn which of your accounts has the problem. She sounded so wounded I apologized and said, Im really sorry, but you called me. If you just tell me what this is about, Ill be happy to help clear it up. Again, offended, she said I will just have to wait until they call me again (which, made no sense since we were talking), but if I was that concerned I could call the number on the back of my Citibank card to clear up the issue. This was clearly a bluff designed to make me just give her my info, but I took her advice, told her that was very helpful, thank you, hung up with her, and called the number on the back of my card. The agent there eventually had her manager call that same number and came back to thank me for not giving them any information. She told me that that number was not affiliated with Citibank in any way, and that she had directed the situation to their Fraud Department. In thinking back about why I was suspicious in the first place, it was tough to pinpoint. So much about the scam seemed right. And I am freakishly untrusting when it comes to banks and such calling me. Long story short, Golden Rule is if they call you, they should be providing the information, not the other way around.
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 20:23:55 +0000
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