Who the hell is HSBC giving my details to?
I got a phone call today from a young chap who sounded like he was in a call centre based in the Midlands. I could hear others talking in the background.
“This is HSBC, is this a good time to talk?”
No, it’s half-term you idiot. “Not really.”
“I just need to confirm some details with you.”
Huh? You called me.
He went on to give me the first three characters of my post code, and asked me for the rest. Then he gave me my birth month, and wanted me to fill in the blanks.
Yeah, right, like I’m going to give him personal details.
I used call back and it went to an automated answer and then another midlands accent came on the line. I asked if he was from was HSBC.
“No, this is Quality Choice Insurance.”
Really.
I called back five minutes later and they changed the voicemail to say “You have been called by HSBC. There is no need to return the call.” The number is 0800 7838422 if you would like to try it yourself.
So, either this is a clever fraudster or it is some insurance scheme backed by HSBC.
What I want to know, HSBC, is how they hell they got my personal data?
Biweekly Mortgage Calculator | 23rd Dec 09
HSBC flopped this year in Asian markets. And oh, a very scary thing when they are disclosing out names.
Julia | 25th Feb 09
the really scary thing is that your caller could have been in prison (I’ve seen tv shows on who companies hire and sometimes they’re prisoners!).
treemama | 19th Feb 09
Horrible! I am thankful everyday for Caller ID so that I don’t have to answer calls from people I don’t know.
Unfortunately, there are sooooo many people,especially elderly who get taken advantage of buy legitimate companies with bad practices as well as shysters.
I had to talk a little old lady here at work last week who was trying to get a loan for $600.00 to give a guy who promised her it would get her a million. Thank God we have a 2 day turnaround on loans because she was ready to hand it over to him that day.
Doesn’t hurt to follow up on it.
Caren | 19th Feb 09
URGENT!! I’m sure this is a scam and you should really call the police. We’ve had something similar here in Ireland recently. He was hoping to get more bank account information out of you. Well done you for getting rid of him though.
Susanna (A Modern Mother) | 19th Feb 09
The sad part is that it only takes one person to give out details and that makes the whole scheme profitable for the fraudsters. They called during the day so I expect they were looking for pensioners…
I sent HSBC an email and called. They are useless. Sent me back an automated reply.
thatgirl39 | 18th Feb 09
We had some idiot call once and ask us to give out our mortgage details. When Other Half refused and asked who this guy was he got really shitty and said “Look mate… im just trying to save you money”! Seriously… do people think we are stupid…. trust nobody I say!
Antonella | 18th Feb 09
HSBC are totally useless. Two years ago they managed to “lose” £2200 of an online bank transfer to me. It took me 6 weeks to get it back after shouting at countless customer service agents in Mumbai, Kuala Lumpor etc. Only when I threatened them to call the police and sue them for theft they finally managed to get me in touch with a manager in Manchester. After that everything was sorted within a couple of days. A nightmare! I would call them , but don’t expect an answer from them! Ciao. A.
Iota | 18th Feb 09
Good for you for spotting it. Many people would just have blithely given out the information. YEs, call HSBC and enquire (or inquire even).
PhenomenalMama | 18th Feb 09
Definitely call HSBC. What happened to you is totally not cool.
Working Mum | 18th Feb 09
I imagine they’ve got our details from a government CD left on a train somewhere!
Homeofficemum | 18th Feb 09
Sounds worrying. Call HSBC and ask to speak to a customer service person and explain what happened.
Michele @ The Integrated Mother | 18th Feb 09
When I was a teen, I used to receive calls from friends who would demand, “Who is this?!” when my dad, mom, etc. would answer the phone. My parents would just hang up, and the same applies to the situation you described here. If the caller doesn’t know who he/she is calling and asks for my personal information, then I just hang up (usually without saying anything).