Telephone security questions

fran38

This might come across as a bit of a gripe but here goes. I received a call from my mortgage provider today & as usual it started with the usual security questions. I was asked my name which I gave & then address. I answered this but ommitted to give the county which I reside in. The person who made the call refused to continue with it until I named the county on my address.

I dug my heels in, rightly or wrongly & said that I gave my name, my address & I'm perfectly happy to continue with the call. The person refused this & said that he's unable to do so.

I could have given the county for an easy life & in hindsight was pig headed of me. But does anyone else agree that these security questions are gone a bit too far? What do people do in these situations?

Jim_Hodge

I generally refuse to answer security questions if a business calls me. They initiated the call, not me. They could be scammers, for all I know. They're usually trying to sell me something I don't want anyway.

Looking for the county when you gave the rest of your address sounds iffy, to say the least.

893bet

I think on these calls there should be two way flow. They should be able to give you details that they have access to confirm they are genuine e.g the day of the month payment is made, how much it is, how long you have been a customer etc.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123051460#Comment_123051460

I've had a few, over the years, that couldn't tell me my account number when I asked them for it. Instant hang-up from me.

_BAA_RAM_EWE

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123051460#Comment_123051460

nope.

Either you call them back or don't continue. scams are getting to clever and people have little if any protection.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058388383/telephone-security-questions

What do people do in these situations?

The first thing you should have done was not engage with them. You should have taken their name and called them back using a known number. Second, you should not to have given out any personal data since you have no idea who you were talking to… This is what you are regularly told by the financial institutions.

Do you have any idea of just how much scamming goes on? The number runs in to tens of thousands every day and you need to up your game if you want make sure you don't end up the victim. And theses days the bank are not nearly forgiving as they used to be because there are simply too many claims.

And BTW, them insisting in you providing them with the county name, could have been because they were collecting your data for all you knew.

_BAA_RAM_EWE

Look at this scam. Theirs question marks around some of it and how it exactly it happened but be careful folks. Anyone could have been caught with this one.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058387393/authorised-push-payment-any-advice-appreciated

blackbox

I regulator get these type of calls from Vodafone . When I refuse to engage they send a text (from Vodafone) to confirm

It hasn't been a scam yet, but I'm guessing the text could be spoofed.

greasepalm

I do not engage as they state they dont ring and ask for security details.

I might be contacting them tomorrow to say you might have been scammed in giving out your details and might have to update things.

_BAA_RAM_EWE

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123052786#Comment_123052786

Yup, scammer can send a txt and it'll appear in that same vodafone txt conversation with all the legit txts you received previously. They can be really dodgy depending on the company. Theirs a binance scammer doing this at the minute, I see he caught alot of people.

Purple Mountain

On another tangent..

When a customer rings a financial institution, is one of the security questions still 'what's your mother's maiden name'? 🤣

Given the number of unmarried parents nowadays, surely this is A. pointless and B. discriminatory 🤣

vinniem

It's a scam, buisness should never ring and ask you security questions without reason. Even if they send a text it can appear genuine and come in within previous text thread. Hang up and ring the buisness, and if it was genuine they will know. Have to be very careful now with amount of scamming bastards!

daheff

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123053064#Comment_123053064

How is it discriminatory?

How is it pointless? It's a reference that you should know, but many others would not.

Purple Mountain

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123053102#Comment_123053102

Because for many many people today, the answer to that question is none such name exists.

It's null and void.

Everyone has a name, address, date of birth but not everyone has a mother with a maiden name. It's an archaic question.

cbreeze

I got a call to say my credit card was compromised. I told the caller I was not happy with giving details over the phone. They said they understood and to call the number on the back of the card. Which I did. They were right. I hadn't made multiple purchases of around seven euro to a record shop in a car eastern country so they voided the purchases and reissued the card.

ALso, whenever I'm told that a call is being recorded for security training purposes I just say, yep, me too.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123053315#Comment_123053315

Given the current state of artificial reproduction technology, yes, EVERYONE has a mother with a maiden name. In many cases it's the same as her current surname, meaning the question is less useful in the past.

But no one is ever asked for documentation to prove that name. If you say that your mother's maiden name is "Elephant", and give that value consistently, then will be accepted and it's something that most people won't know.

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123053397#Comment_123053397

I used to work on Tech Support and we had to ask for the mothers maiden name. One call I remember, man rings up,

Me: Can I confirm the name on the account?

Man: It's my wifes account actually, <proceeds to give her name>

Me: Can I ask for her mothers maiden-name?

Man: Cold Arse.

Me: <Looks at the system. It says Winterbottom>

Me: Thats close enough.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123052808#Comment_123052808

Yes it can be done! YOU need to initiate the contact and do it from a known number. I have not seen an Irish bank statement in decades, but I know German, French and Swiss statements have a published contact number on them that you should use to get in touch and depending on your status with the bank even a couple of names on their team that you should only deal with.

If someone calls you then you need to take their name and call them back on a number you know to be the banks.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123053315#Comment_123053315

Which actually makes it an even better question because you get to make it up and only you will know the answer. Your first priority should be protecting your financial assets not the PC stuff.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123053315#Comment_123053315

Everyone has a mother with a maiden name. Her birth name is her maiden name. Plus, it's only a security question if you have given them an answer to it in the first place. There are lots of security questions to choose from.

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123053790#Comment_123053790

And the original purpose of the mother's maiden name is it's a piece of information most people know and will remember. It's a password of sorts.

If Jim Hodge rings up but doesnt know his account number, can't remember what email address he used to register the account on, or which address it is tied to, if there is more than one Jim Hodge on the system, I can ask for his Mothers Maiden name to aid in figuring out which one he is.

While working for Irish Broadband Support a person rang up, didn't know any of their own details, and the mother's maiden name came in handy for figuring out they did not have an account with us. After asking a few more probing questions, it turns out they wanted Eircom Tech Support.

Them: "Oh I assumed Irish Broadband was the English name for Eircom".

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123053102#Comment_123053102

It is public info that anyone with 4 quid to spend can get from the GRO (buy a research copy of your birth cert); and indeed for a few months, all birth certs to the present day were available online.

Its a terrible thing to consider a secret question.

Purple Mountain

I don't want to derail someone else's thread on security with my musings about the use of a mother's maiden name as a security question within financial institutions.

But I will say, when you fill out an application form for say a credit card and you opt to fill in your mother's maiden name as a security question, you sign the document that the information is true and correct so putting "Elephant" as your answer wouldn't be truthful.

I still assert that it is a discriminating question to use because by asking what one's mother's maiden name is assuming that everyone's mother has a maiden name. The fact is- if my mother never married, then she's still 'maiden' so the question should be 'what was your mother's birth surname?'

Pedantic maybe but it's an archaic thing to ask people nowadays with over 40% of women being unmarried when they have children.

Jim2007

MOD: We're had enough of the "maiden name" by now, so back on topic please.

safe electricity

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123052638#Comment_123052638

Aib mortgage used always ring from private number it's their computer system I guess

The J Stands for Jay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123053315#Comment_123053315

You don't have to tell the truth when setting up these questions, you just have to remember the lie you told at the start