I received a call from a private number today claiming she is from Genesis. She knew my name, my current power provider, my address and she knew how long have I been with this provider. She was offering me a $300 welcome credit and also 12% discount every month to switch to them.
I needed to provide her my full name, my email address and my date of birth for credit check purposes. I asked where did she get my information from. She said it's from a third party company (can't recall the name), I might have completed some online surveys to give out those information. I said if you got that information from the third party, surely you will have my email address. She said unfortunately not.
I said I can give out my email address, but I'm not comfortable providing my date of birth. That's because she is calling from a private number and she can't prove that she is from Genesis. She asked if I would like to speak to her supervisor, but speaking to your supervisor still doesn't prove they are from Genesis. She tried to give me a 0800 number so that I can call her back. I asked her to send me an email from her Genesis email with her contact details so that I can call her back. She said she is not allowed to send email as the promotion is phone call only.
This could be legit but the process sounds dodgy to me (a credit check to join a power company?) And I havent even agree to join, I was merely wanting to know their daily rate etc . Has anyone come across this kind of call and are they for real?
Scam prevention 101: Never give out ANY information to anyone who cold contacts you without verification. Not your credit card number, not your address or DOB, not the colour of your underwear or even your name if you aren't 100% sure who they are or where they are from.
You were absolutely right to be hesitant. Doesn't mean it was a scam but if they can't provide you a verified way of contacting them back, just hang up. Verified usually means a number you can find on their (legitimate, well-known) website.
Here's how it goes all too often even with legitimate calls (I've literally had this very conversation twice before with two reps from two different banks):
If you can't get in touch with them via another verified number on their website (or trusted printed materials from them), hang up. Don't even accept an email or SMS from the supposed company's address/number as verification - this can be spoofed.
Good luck, it's a wild world out there.