Most calls asking for private information are scams. CRA, for one, will never call you. So generally, it is a good idea to simply hang up. There may be instances where you are not sure. One such instance is a call from your bank that your credit card has been compromised. In that specific case, they may give you the last (not first) 4 digits of your credit card number, and they might ask for your name to verify who they are talking to, but they won’t require you to provide any bank information. On such a call they might itemize some recent purchases for you to verify whether they are legit. If you say they are not legit, they will block the purchase, and probably cancel your credit card, and then send you a new one. If you confirm that those were in fact legitimate purchases by you, then no further action is required. But if you are uncomfortable giving them even this minimal information, tell them you will hang up and call the number on the back of your credit card.
It is always much safer giving information when it is you who initiated the call. If you do, then you may need to provide some information such as the last 4 digits of your card to verify that it is really you are calling. But don’t be tricked into thinking you initiated the call when you hadn’t done so. A recent scammer trick is to tell you to hang up and call, e.g., the number on the back of your credit card. They then try to trick you into thinking that you are initiating a new call, but all the while they are still on the line and “answering” your new call. If you are on a land line, they might trick you into a thinking that you were disconnected from the first call by playing a dial tone sound. Or if you are on a cell phone, they may simply say “goodbye” hoping that you will just assume that they hung up and that the line was disconnected.
So – when hanging up on a suspected scam call, make sure you disconnect. On a landline, put the handset back in the cradle and leave it down for a minute before initiating another call. On a cell phone, check the display to make sure you are not still connected; you may need to press “End Call”.
The IT Doctors