With the holidays upon us, a story on phishing attacks was featured. True to form, Harry Smith, was amazed by his guest as she described how she had sat in "a room full of world class experts" whom all had trouble identifying the phishing message due to its apparent authenticity.
Hmm....I'm guessing that that lost something in translation. It seems to me hard to believe that any "world class expert" would have such trouble decoding that a message indicating that the provider needs you to either reply or call with your details to "confirm" them would be anything but.
Just the same, here are some basics to think about when you get such messages, texts, calls, or even in person queries:
- How verifiable and credible is the requestor? Does the sender of the message read customerservice@citibank.com or adsfasdfasfs@citi-bank.com? Does your caller ID identify the call? Does the person have identification?
- What information is being asked for? Honestly, when was the last time that your credit card company lost your account number? Why would they or any merchant contact you directly to request your SSN in order to "verify" anything?
- What information do they already have? Most credit card issuers, banks, and merchants will already possess some identifying information on you and will seek to confirm what they have as opposed to asking you for what you have. Now, this alone does not bring instant credibility. However, if they are telling you your recent transaction amounts and dates, it is a step in the right direction. Whereas, if they are telling you your street address and then asking for your account number or SSN, it should be viewed as highly suspect.
- What is that agent's name and/or the assigned case number? When in doubt, look up your credit card issuer's, bank's, or merchant's customer service number as found on your most recent invoice and call them directly with the agent name and/or assigned case number to confirm the request before providing anything.
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