Okay, so evidently my phone number is quite similar to that of a bank. Around tax time, I start getting weird messages on my machine about banking this-'n-that. About two messages a week.
What absolutley amazes me, is that each and every one of these folks are leaving really detailed information about their accounts:
Full name, phone number, account number, and loan number… Heck, sometimes they even throw balances at me, go into details about transferring funds, and leave credit card info. :eek:
Does my voice mail message sound like a bank to you?
“Hi, this is Crayons at 555.1234. No one can take you call right now, please leave a message and I’ll return your call as soon as I am able.”
At no point do I say “Bank of Crayons, gimme your dirt!”
I’m so surprised that so many folks would leave such detailed information on an answering machine. Especially one that doesn’t mentioned the bank at any point.
Man, I’m getting all this info without even trying – no wonder evil fraudsters can do so well.
I don’t know about anyone else, but my mind tends to go into auto-pilot when I’m listening to someone’s answering machine message, since they all generally say the same thing. So it’s possible that these people are just spacing out and not really listening to the message, they’re probably more concentrating on whatever account problem their having and they’re ‘positive’ they called the right number.
Also, at my work, if you manage to get my direct extension, my voicemail message doesn’t say anything about what company I work for. (You have to go through the company switchboard to get to my direct extension anyway, so theoretically they’d hear the company name at that point). The only thing I can edit in my voicemail message is my name. So perhaps the random callers you’re getting think they’ve just dialed someone’s direct line at this bank.
Or maybe I don’t know what the heck I"m talking about (a distinct possibility).
Nah, I think it’s the spacing out thing. A couple years ago (we’ve had the number for THREE YEARS), our number was apparently the number to this home construction outfit, so we get all these calls like, “Hi, you said you were going to put in my toilet, but the crew didn’t show” and “This is a call about a loan from Accounts Recievable.”
Maybe you can change the greeting to be, “Hi, you’ve reached the Crayons residence. THIS IS NOT GIMME BANK…REPEAT. THIS IS NOT GIMME BANK. If you still feel the need to leave me your detailed account information, wait for the beep.”
If it were me, I’d call the person back and let them know what they did. Otherwise they’ll be sitting around wondering why the bank doesn’t call back, and it’ll give you an opportunity to warn them about their stupidity. But that’s just me. Helpful to idiots and the clueless.
Change your message to be exclusively in a Lesser-Known Language. Your friends and family will still recognise your voice, but it’ll scare off telemarketers or anyone who was expecting a place of business that works in English.
I use Esperanto for this purpose. Tokipona or Gaelic might work as well.
They won’t listen. I have to argue with them about this being my apartment and us having had this number for three years. And then they want to know if I know this mysterious place’s NEW number.
I have done this on occasion, especialy if my call display says the call was within the last few hours. If the call was early in the day, I assume they would have called again already.
Could be worse. Sniffs_Markers’s number is very similar to a security company’s, so occasionally her phone rings at unOgly hours like 3a.m.
Alas, I can’t get too creative with the message, since I do get business calls at home.
Either way, I can’t imagine leaving such detailed banking info on voicemail. It feels too much like writing my credit card number on a piece of paper and sliding it under an office door. I don’t really know who’s gonna find it. But maybe I’m just paranoid.
Dons tinfoil hat that keeps the dreams in… prepares for bed
The hell???