social engineering and the angry hermit
Two guys walk up to the door of my house today. One is in an AT&T golf shirt and the other in poorly fitted dress clothes. They said they're doing customer service house calls door to assess our current services and see if better plans are available for my household. All they need is to see a copy of my recent phone bill to see what my current services are. I say I'm too damn busy and shoo them on.
Then I get cynical and paranoid. Calling AT&T customer service connects me to someone supposedly in California where I am told that no, they don't have telemarketer's in my neighborhood. I explain that it is not telemarketer's I am worried about. I need to know if they have people wandering neighborhoods asking homeowners if they can see their phone bills? The customer service call was a series of long pauses with dumdum lady (gail?) saying she will note my account and refer the situation to a supervisor for possible investigation.
"Look, I just need to know if you have people in the Dallas area doing door to door sales?" "No sir, there is no telemarketers in your area."
"Telemarketers? I'm asking about real people knocking on my door!"
"No sir, we are not doing that at this time."
"So no sales people going door to door?"
"Yes sir, no telemarketers in your area."
"I'm not asking about that. I'm asking if there are door to door customer service visits in my neighborhood today."
Long silence......
I then hung up on her and concluded that some old ladies in my neighborhood are going to be having very troubling financial woes in the near future. And people say social engineering isn't that common.
They may actually have been a couple shlubs working for some reseller trying to make a buck. But I doubt it.
Then I get cynical and paranoid. Calling AT&T customer service connects me to someone supposedly in California where I am told that no, they don't have telemarketer's in my neighborhood. I explain that it is not telemarketer's I am worried about. I need to know if they have people wandering neighborhoods asking homeowners if they can see their phone bills? The customer service call was a series of long pauses with dumdum lady (gail?) saying she will note my account and refer the situation to a supervisor for possible investigation.
"Look, I just need to know if you have people in the Dallas area doing door to door sales?" "No sir, there is no telemarketers in your area."
"Telemarketers? I'm asking about real people knocking on my door!"
"No sir, we are not doing that at this time."
"So no sales people going door to door?"
"Yes sir, no telemarketers in your area."
"I'm not asking about that. I'm asking if there are door to door customer service visits in my neighborhood today."
Long silence......
I then hung up on her and concluded that some old ladies in my neighborhood are going to be having very troubling financial woes in the near future. And people say social engineering isn't that common.
They may actually have been a couple shlubs working for some reseller trying to make a buck. But I doubt it.
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