Possible Scam: call about home owners that work

You’d be amazed how easily informations is released by some companies. A couple of years ago I interviewd a bloke for a job – he was a good fit with what we were offering but we thought he might be puffing a bit on his existing salary – he wanted to at least match what he was getting, which we didn’t have a problem with – it was just that we thought he was punching above his weight if he was getting the sort of money he claimed – to cut to the chase – I rang his employer, asked to be put through to HR and then simply said I was from American Express and that the guy was asking for a credit limit increase and I needed someone to verify his income – without skipping a beat they walked me through his whole remuneration package without asking for any verification whatsoever.

Every couple of months Telstra calls me at home and offers to review my billing arrangements to make sure I am getting the most out of my plan and put me on a more appropriate plan if necessesary.

However, in order to verify that I am the right person to speak to, they ask for personal information including my date of birth.

Each time I tell them that I am not going to give them that information as they ahve called me and I have not way to verify whether they are who they claim to be.

Their standard resposne to me is that I can call a number they provide for Telstra to verify that the call is bona fide and continue the discussion.

At this point I point out that it is them that have called me during dinner and TV time and are now asking me to hang up on them, dial another number, then navigate the nightmare that is the voice recognition software you get whenever you call Telstra, just in order for them to continue the call which, while good intentioned in principle, is, essentially, a sales call.

At this point the phone call ends. They keep calling though, every two to three months.

They must have some success in getting people to identify themselves or the calls would stop. This would appear to offer a nice little ‘in’ for anyone seeking to obtain personal information for malicious purposes – just call around pretending you come from Telstra/Optus/etc, sweet talk them with offers of optimising their service, and get them to hand over date of birth and other personal information. All it would take is the White Pages.

All together now, a big hooraty for Sol and Telstra and let’s all join the queue for T3 shares.

keep on truckin:)

AD, surprisingly, not yet. All I hear is a loud click on the end of the line.

But I’m sure to hit pay dirt sooner or later! 🙂

Mr Evil – have you ever got a fuck out of them?

I had a wierd call a few weeks ago, a woman wanting to know my neighbour’s name and if he was a young man? Stupidly i told her he was young, but then i thought to ask her who she was and she hung up. debt collectors?

I always had great fun during the real estate boom when agents asked if I was thinking of selling the property.

After 5 minutes of chit chat, they always got annoyed when I told them I was a renter, and asked what % I would get of the sale price…

Or ask them to hold for a minute – then put the phone near the speakers and play some Kevin Bloody Wilson. They tend to hang up before Santa Claus finishes

I have made it my mission to drive the call centres out of my life. Whenver they call me I simply ask them if they like to fuck.

Seems to be working, as I hardly get any calls from them now.

We used to get lots of calls about whether we wanted to refinance our mortgage. They start with the usual questions:
“Do you have a mortgage?”
“Yes”
“How much do you pay per month?”
“Pay – shit I dunno, I’m supposed to be paying it off but I’ve never actually transferred any money to them”
“OK , do you have a full time job sir?”
“A job , get real, what would I want a job for when I don’t pay rent or mortgage? The dole is heaps when you take those costs out!”
“Thankyou for your time sir”
beep…beep…beep.

They have now stopped bugging me, so I can eat dinner in front of Futurama without getting bugged.

On a more serious note, never divulge information to anyone over the phone who you do not know. Don’t give approximate figures, admit to having a full time job, or being married – anything. Simply inform the caller that you have no way of verifying their identity, and have a nice day.

Well it couldn’t have been DJ ringing you – unless he can communicate from “the other side”?

crazy chester maybe?

hmmm….

If your in the phone book I’d be worried. They may have been checking to see if you were at home so they can target the place for robbery.

If you do get hit… the telecommunications carriers keep records (Call Charge Records) which will be able to identify the originating number. Typically you need a court order to get access to CCC records… but keep a note of the approximate date and time you received that call just in case… it could be the lead the police actually need to track the buggers down later.