Thursday, October 19, 2017

Thrifty Thinking: Protecting Information from Cold-Callers

Information is power, as revealed by a slew of recent cyber hacks in which millions of Americans had their personal data stolen by criminals. Now, doubt over releasing personal information is spreading across the country, especially as it relates to telemarketers…particularly those calling from prison.
“Many people don’t realize that cold-calling is actually quite common in prisons across the world,” says Karl Volkman, Cyber Security Expert and CTO of SRV Network, Inc. “It sounds odd, but it actually makes sense: Telemarketing is a trainable skill that requires little education, and all that is needed is a phone and a list of numbers. No wonder so many prisoners make their daily wages by calling Americans.”

There’s just one problem, says Volkman. Some of the questions these inmates ask could reveal information that could later be used against you. “You don’t want to hand out personal information to strangers on the phone, let alone prison inmates,” says Volkman. “Yet currently there is no law requiring prisoners to identify as such when they phone you, and there are very few regulations regarding the type of information these cold-callers can retrieve from you.”

The tech security expert advises people to never give information on the phone, even if it’s just for a ‘harmless’ political survey. “It’s especially important to make sure that vulnerable people like elderly folks or those with developmental delays are being protected from such scams,” says Volkman. “There is never a good reason to give out personal information over the phone, even if it is just about your shopping habits or your age and marital status.”

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