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> Does anyone else have any ideas for how to authenticate a BigCorp caller whose corporate policies do not allow them to provide any account information to the people they are calling?

I mean, it's really their problem, isn't it?

If you need something from them, call their customer line and ask. If they need something from you, then they'll figure it out.

I had a financial institution call me one time and ask

    "Is this nucleardog?"
    "Yes."
    "Alright, this is reallyfastwords can we start by verifying your date of birth?"
    "No. You called me. I didn't even catch who you are. What can I help you with."
    "I'm with really fast words. I can't tell you anything until I verify your identity."
    "You called me. You verify your identity first."
    "If you don't verify, then I can't tell you why I called!"
    "That's fine."
There was a loooong pause before she finally decided on "Okay, what _day_ in June of 1985 were you born?" and apparently that was satisfactory.



Banks themselves tell you not to give out their info, so that scenario plays out more often than you think. I've had it happen and they just sent a letter by mail instead.


> I mean, it's really their problem, isn't it?

They'll typically make it your problem by blocking a transaction or your account...


I've tried having them give me a checksum of the last four digits of my card number. They refused.




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