Faster, better…

Never volunteer information to someone calling you on the telephone. Phishing is not just an Internet scam. There are still people using the telephone attempting theft and fraud every day. When someone calls you that you do not know and they are asking you very personal questions ask yourself whether you should confirm anything they have told you. Be very cautious about giving a similar caller any new information regardless of how innocuous the call may seem.

Today I received a call from a person claiming to represent a company that provides pharmaceutical insurance for my health insurance company. The call just seemed odd. The caller was on a headset I could barely understand. That to me is a sure sign that the caller is in a call center and might be a telemarketer. I immediately challenged this person because I had previously told my health insurance company I wanted all communication from them in writing and they were happy to oblige. They have been very good about our relationship so this call made no sense to me.

The caller wanted to discuss my health and medications. In an effort to assure me she was who she said she was she volunteered the name of my pharmacy! Next she said to simply look on the back of my medical insurance card for the name of her company! Yeah right. What is wrong with this picture. I hung up on her.

My next call was to my health insurance company. Now aside from their telephone tree they do a reasonably good job with customer service. The representatives I have spoken to have had the authority to resolve problems. This representative listened carefully to my information about the call. She said she would call the pharmaceutical company. She made that call and discovered that the company had NOT called me.

According to my insurance company both they and their affiliates keep records of all calls to customers. They had a record of my last call from a pharmacy a few weeks earlier but no call made today. Very interesting don’t you think? The insurance company was next going to alert their security folks.

No one has a clue at this point where the call really came from. All I know is that the telephone number on caller ID was 180-026-8570. The caller clearly wanted me to feel at home with her and stay on the line telling her whatever she wanted me to tell her. Just in case I also called my pharmacy. Everyone I deal with knows what happened. We are all on our toes.

Phishing is on the increase. It is on the increase because some people are not as careful as others. Remember that if anyone calls you on the telephone you are under no obligation to give them anything. Call them back if you have to. Verify who they say they are before you say anything. You just never know who people are or how they want to compromise you or your family.

Be very suspicious of people calling you and just as suspicious of caller id because it can also be compromised.

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