# I think I was phished, how worried should I be? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 8, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-was-phished-how-worried-should-i-be/688006 "2014-05-08T20:38:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-was-phished-how-worried-should-i-be/688006/1 "2014-05-08T20:38:16Z")
Yesterday I had a phone call at work, from a number I didn’t recognize. I picked it up, said my usual greeting, followed by: Woman on phone: Hello, (my first name) this is mumble mumble with an accent… Me: (thinking I’ll get her name again if I need it) Yes? Woman: Are you still associated with (your place of work)? Me: (not thinking) Yes. Woman: OK, thank you, good bye. -click- So, this is pretty much public information anyway, I’ve worked here for a long time, but what legitimate basis could this call have had? The fact that it was a woman with what sounded like an Eastern Euro accent made me more nervous after the fact. I have CreditKarma, and I checked in there and there have been no new credit queries. I am not applying myself for anything anywhere. Opinions? ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-was-phished-how-worried-should-i-be/688006/2 "2014-05-08T20:44:08Z")
Apparently, it could have been a [scam to sign you up for something](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=17247153&postcount=16). ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-was-phished-how-worried-should-i-be/688006/3 "2014-05-08T20:45:53Z")
Oy, thanks for the reference. I guess I’ll have to keep an eye out for those kinds of developments. Never say “yes” on the phone to strangers - that’s a tough rule to follow. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-was-phished-how-worried-should-i-be/688006/4 "2014-05-08T22:41:42Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Never say “yes” on the phone to strangers - that’s a tough rule to follow. Consider getting into the habit of answering (if at all) in complete sentences. “Are you working at xxxx?” “That is so.” “Is this xxxx?” “I am.” or “This is” ---
**Author:** ![randompattern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-was-phished-how-worried-should-i-be/688006/5 "2014-05-08T22:47:37Z")
Maybe you’re going to be served papers at work in the near future. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-was-phished-how-worried-should-i-be/688006/6 "2014-05-08T22:47:39Z")
What you described is not phishing. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-was-phished-how-worried-should-i-be/688006/7 "2014-05-09T08:02:49Z")
I’ve seen ordering scams before that start a bit like this - get the name of some random Joe at a company, then call their accounts or goods inward department and make arrangements for the invoicing/delivery of Joe’s consignment of overpriced widgets. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-was-phished-how-worried-should-i-be/688006/8 "2014-05-09T11:08:46Z")
I had a headhunter call begin like that, but continue with, “Would you consider a change for the right money?” ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-was-phished-how-worried-should-i-be/688006/9 "2014-05-09T17:30:26Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I’ve seen ordering scams before that start a bit like this - get the name of some random Joe at a company, then call their accounts or goods inward department and make arrangements for the invoicing/delivery of Joe’s consignment of overpriced widgets. I’m not worried about that, I don’t have authority to order anything. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-was-phished-how-worried-should-i-be/688006/10 "2014-05-09T17:54:57Z")
That won’t stop someone from shipping merch to where you work claiming that you approved it and having a doctored phone recording to back it up. Most businesses are savvy to that kind of scam, but it’s still a hassle. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-was-phished-how-worried-should-i-be/688006/11 "2014-05-09T23:19:12Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Never say “yes” on the phone to strangers - that’s a tough rule to follow. > [@Senegoid](#): > > Consider getting into the habit of answering (if at all) in complete sentences. > “Are you working at xxxx?” “That is so.” > “Is this xxxx?” “I am.” or “This is” I’ll second both of those! Decades ago, I even stopped saying “Hello” when picking up the receiver.\* The robo-dailers were too quick to catch that vocal rhythm and connect me to the next telemarketer in the queue (and probably flag mine as a valid number). —G! \*Instead I’d pick a foreign language and say “Hello” or “I’m listening” or use whatever their typical phone-answering phrase was, just to confuse the telemarketers and auto-dialer software.😃