Are some of my calls to my bank being intercepted?
For three of the past four months, I've had to call customer service regarding my credit card, which is issued by a major U.S. bank. I am suspicious that some of these calls were highjacked.
- How can I determine whether there's actually something phishy going on?
- What can I do to protect myself?
Here's what happens:
I call the toll-free number stamped on the back of my physical credit card from my home landline (POTS not VoIP).
The call is almost instantly answered by a voice response unit. I hear zero rings before the VRU starts talking.
The VRU prompts for my full account number, which, in hindsight feels a bit suspicious.
A recording says that my bank has a special offer for customers over 50. It asks me to press 1 if I'm over 50 or 2 if not.
I press 2 (not over 50). Regardless, a recording starts telling me about the offer.
Disgusted, I hang up and then redial.
After a ring or two, a voice-response unit answers. This one sounds a little different than the first.
It prompts me to enter the last four digits of my account number and my ZIP code. I assume it's reading the caller ID and using that as additional information to identify the account.
The VRU lists the usual menu options. This is how I expect these calls to go.
When I reach a human and tell them I don't appreciate the unskippable over-50 promo when I call the number, I'm emphatically told, "We don't do that." But also: "That won't happen again."
If I call a third time on the same day, it goes exactly like the second call. But if I call weeks later, the pattern starts over, with the first attempt connecting to the suspicious VRU promoting the offer.
Quite possibly a coincidence: A couple weeks after the first of these suspicious calls, a fraudulent charge was made on the account—the first I've had in many years.
The bank alerted me by email that they'd blocked a suspicious charge. And, yes, when I called to confirm that I had not authorized it, the first call got the phishy VRU.
The phone number on the back of the new card matches that on the old card and the account statements.
