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Question & Answer

Question: "We don't open accounts over the telephone, but we will give our customers confidential information about their account if they call and ask for it. Before we will discuss account information (i.e., balances, deposits, checks paid, transfer money, etc.) we identify the customer by asking his or her social security number, which must agree with the one we have on file. Is there anything else we could do?"

Answer: I'll pass along the thoughts from a few of our security officers. If your financial institution has a system whereby a customer is assigned a PIN that is used to access the information, it probably is as secure as anything automated can be. If you know your customer's voice on the telephone, you're one better than the automated system. For extra verification, in addition to the social security number, our experts suggest you also get the account number, and the date and amount of the last deposit, before you give out any information. Keep in mind, however, that this might pose a problem for some customers, so have a backup plan, in case your customer is unable to provide the date and amount of the last deposit. (This is sometimes the case when it is a joint account, for example, and the other joint owner made the last deposit.)

Fortunately, with the increased acceptance of online banking and telephone response systems, the amount of time employees have to spend answering balance inquiries has been substantially reduced!

Copyright © 1995 Bankers' Hotline. Updated 01/08/01. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 5, No. 7, 3/95

First published on 03/01/1995

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