Social Engineering

‘Someone I know well’ was trying to change a life insurance policy recently. An operator from the provider called to confirm some aspects of the policy. They opened the call by asking for the name, address, and date of birth of the recipient of the call. To their credit, they hesitated, to respond “Hang on, you called me!” No information was offered by the caller to substantiate their identity until challenged. How many people will stop and think to ask for proof, and how many will give away their personal identification information? I’m guessing most. It seems like the assumption is that corporate representatives have the right to challenge their customers to prove their bonafides, without, in many cases, specifically taking efforts to do the same.Time for some balance in the service-client relationship. Perhaps, we should be asking more actively for proof of their identity or invoicing companies for time spent waiting in a telephone cue, hold on that’s a different story…