Yesterday I got a call from Providian saying they are updating their records and confirming their records. Has anyone ever had that experience? I have never had a credit card company call about such things. My account is in excellent status, I pay off balances in full each month. They wanted to verify a second phone number for me, my income, whether I was employed, and whether I rented or own a place to live. I am just hoping that it was really Providian I was talking to and not someone impersonating them getting information about me off my credit report. Thanks
RE: Providian called -- updati I know they are updating, but they asked me this information when I called them. as long as they didn't ask you for any personal identifying information, (ie, credit card acct #, social security #), then it was really them.
RE: Providian called -- updati They asked me too, but it was when i called them...I agree with LadyC as long as they were not asking personal information it was probably them.
RE: Providian called -- updati If you ever doubt it is them, calling, ask for the credit card account # and the 3 digits to the right of it on the back. It's very unlikely anyone on the planet has those extra identifying digits, unless they've scanned the back of your card very unlikely, Almost all other personal info, like name address and social can be retrieved with an "IDENT" style report (give name/address get back full ssn, dob, etc without a soft or hard inquiry). People committing fraud these days are very smart, be smarter.
RE: Providian called -- updati Thanks everybody! Special thanks to Sam for the information about the credit card numbers. Good advice! I will remember that.
RE: Providian called -- updati Some credit card issuers typically do call to update their files on you, especially if they haven't detected major changes in your credit history such as change of employer for a couple of years. One would assume that after 5 years with the same employer you would be making more money, so providing that information would put you in a good position for a credit limit increase. MBNA sent me a letter several months back requesting that I call them to provide this information. I would never divulge any information whatsoever to anyone who called out of the blue. I'd tell the caller that I'd call their customer service department and provide the information, or respond to a written request on bank letterhead. There are just too many scam artists out there.