“Hello, is that Mr. Malibu?”
“Yes.”
“Hi I’m calling from MBNA about your credit card. Do you have a few moments to discuss it right now?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Before we proceed, I’d just like to ask you a few security questions to confirm your identity.”
“OK.”
“Could you give me your date of birth and mother’s maiden name?”
“Yes, I could. But first, can I ask you a few security questions to confirm your identity?”
“Er, well…..”
“You know, how do I know that you’re not some spotty teenager who has guessed my phone number, and that I have an MBNA card, and wants to get at my account and buy lots of herbal high over the internet?”
“Well, I could give you the number of my team, but the phone system might allocate you to another customer services representative, so….”
“So you can’t then?”
“Well, no-one has ever asked that before.”
Why not? Do you always tell people on the phone your personal details? I know that as I sit in an open-plan office, I can hear people trotting out their credit card numbers, date birth, mother’s maiden name, first pet’s name, inside-leg measurement, and postcode. I figure I might start temping and write down all of these things, and sell them to spotty teenagers so that they canm buy herbal high over the internet.