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I challenge my bank all the time. The answer I get is "Certainly sir. The best way to validate is to find our free-call phone number in a place you trust - the

I challenge my bank all the time. The answer I get is "Certainly sir. The best way to validate is to find our free-call phone number in a place you trust - the phone book, or anywhere else you trust - then call it and type in the following number: X X X X X. That will route the call directly back to me".

cheeseprocedure 13y ago
> "[...] call it and type in the following number: X X X X X. That will route the call directly back to me." I wish every bank did this as standard practice! Hang up, dial the customer care number on the back of the card, then dial the digits supplied by the support rep. Better yet, print instructions right on the back of the card: "don't engage any support representative you did not call directly." Training customers to do this (perhaps even through proactive callouts?) would work to significantly reduce this kind of fraud.
- nshepperd 13y ago
  > Hang up, dial the customer care number on the back of the card, then dial the digits supplied by the support rep. Except apparently to prevent this form of fraud you need to hang up, then call from your mobile, so that the "support rep" can't just stay on the line and do what the guys in this story did (fake a dial tone, make it seem like you've called the customer care number).
  - cheeseprocedure 13y ago
    You're right, I misunderstood the behaviour of UK lines; however, it would still be workable in the US or Canada.
    - MAGZine 13y ago
      I think Canada's system does this, though it might only be a couple seconds. I recall being able to stay on the line ~10 seconds or more and still retain the call. If you have the person on the other side of the phone holding the card and looking at the phone number, being instructed to call it because of some urgent fraud, they're almost certainly going to hang up, and pick back up within a ~5 second window. And if they don't, no harm, no foul (to the scammers)
  - sneak 13y ago
    Hang up, dial your friend. If your "bank" answers, offer to sell them a ppppppowerbook.
    - Avenger42 13y ago
      Wow, that's so simple and clever. It seems so obvious but I wonder if I'd remember to do that if I was shaken up by my "bank" calling to tell me my account had been compromised. I'll write it down for future reference.
- eru 13y ago
  Wouldn't have worked in this case of UK landlines.
TwoBit 13y ago
Yeah, but in the article author's case, you can't even rely on being able to do that (at least with a landline), due to the severe landline security hole regarding ending of phone calls.
dorfsmay 13y ago
I thought this was common sense. I even have done that with the police: They called and started to ask question, I asked for their name, and called back on a well known number. This though, is where this scam is cunning, they use the fact that people feel safe calling a well-known number. I'd like to think I'd have offered the bank to cut off my cc rather than send it, but who knows...

cheeseprocedure 13y ago

> "[...] call it and type in the following number: X X X X X. That will route the call directly back to me." I wish every bank did this as standard practice! Hang up, dial the customer care number on the back of the card, then dial the digits supplied by the support rep. Better yet, print instructions right on the back of the card: "don't engage any support representative you did not call directly." Training customers to do this (perhaps even through proactive callouts?) would work to significantly reduce this kind of fraud.

nshepperd 13y ago
> Hang up, dial the customer care number on the back of the card, then dial the digits supplied by the support rep. Except apparently to prevent this form of fraud you need to hang up, then call from your mobile, so that the "support rep" can't just stay on the line and do what the guys in this story did (fake a dial tone, make it seem like you've called the customer care number).
- cheeseprocedure 13y ago
  You're right, I misunderstood the behaviour of UK lines; however, it would still be workable in the US or Canada.
  - MAGZine 13y ago
    I think Canada's system does this, though it might only be a couple seconds. I recall being able to stay on the line ~10 seconds or more and still retain the call. If you have the person on the other side of the phone holding the card and looking at the phone number, being instructed to call it because of some urgent fraud, they're almost certainly going to hang up, and pick back up within a ~5 second window. And if they don't, no harm, no foul (to the scammers)
- sneak 13y ago
  Hang up, dial your friend. If your "bank" answers, offer to sell them a ppppppowerbook.
  - Avenger42 13y ago
    Wow, that's so simple and clever. It seems so obvious but I wonder if I'd remember to do that if I was shaken up by my "bank" calling to tell me my account had been compromised. I'll write it down for future reference.
eru 13y ago
Wouldn't have worked in this case of UK landlines.

TwoBit 13y ago

Yeah, but in the article author's case, you can't even rely on being able to do that (at least with a landline), due to the severe landline security hole regarding ending of phone calls.

dorfsmay 13y ago

I thought this was common sense. I even have done that with the police: They called and started to ask question, I asked for their name, and called back on a well known number. This though, is where this scam is cunning, they use the fact that people feel safe calling a well-known number. I'd like to think I'd have offered the bank to cut off my cc rather than send it, but who knows...