I had an interesting conversation with a salesperson today. He left me a voicemail yesterday about an 'opportunity' and asked me to call him back.
Yes, I figured, I'll call back, it will be nothing (or close to nothing), I'll decline and it will be over. So, I didn't bother doing any background info gathering before I called him back.
However, it was actually something I've been thinking of doing and what he showed me looked like something I wanted to do. During this conversation - he asked for my credit card number to 'secure' the transaction and get things going.
HOLD IT!! My spidy senses went up... I explained to him - tactfully - that I didn't know him from anyone, and the only contact info I had was what he had left me on a voicemail. And that although I was interested in the opportunity - I was not willing to just give my credit card number to him on a first phone call under these circumstances.
He was surprised - but recovered well - telling me that no one he'd ever called had ever had a problem giving their credit card info out. THIS is one reason we have Identity thieves!!!
So - he offered to put my 'opportunity' on hold, send me an email with more info and allow me time to call him back. Good! The first rule of any 'opportunitiy' is that it should be able to wait for a little while...
In the mean time, I looked up the company (a well known company in Charlotte) he was representing and found their public contact phone number. I called the number and asked the receptionist if he did work for them and if he was authorized to sell that certain item.
She was fun - she was honestly surprised by my question. She asked me how I had gotten his name and info - I told her my tale of voicemail - she laughed quite a bit. AND then she verified that I'm the FIRST person to ever call to verify that he is legitimate with their company. And yes, he is on their sales team!
I'm amazed!! AGAIN - This is one reason why we as a country have an identity theft problem.
Please people - verify that person BEFORE you just give them your information. Whether it's a salesperson or someone pretending to be a bank - ALWAYS find a reason to put the situation on hold and verify who you are talking to. For banking calls - just go find the public phone number and call the bank. For government calls - do the same - find the public number and call that office.
For sales calls - just call the public contact number for the company they represent. If you can't find public contact info - maybe that 'deal' isn't for you. AND if the 'deal' won't wait - or if you are pressured to buy RIGHT NOW - maybe you should just let it go.
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