Phone calls : please take care

Although it is becoming rare, there are still people answering phone calls with "8627995 Jason Hutchinson speaking!"

How about saying anything of the following
"hello"
"hullo"
"what"
"speak"
"this had better be good"
"if it is not urgent, ... make sure I never find you"
"I know what you are thinking ... and you are right"
"I do not suffer fools ... you have been warned!"
"this call is being traced ... you have 43 seconds ... make it good"
"What is your name and where are you calling from"
"If this is a cold call, then your number goes to the authorities"

Obviously these responses cannot be used continuously, but this is where caller ID comes in handy. Maybe you want to use these on your friends as gags, but the important point I am trying to make here is that you should not volunteer any information. If your bank has called you, then politely hangup and phone your local bank using a number that you KNOW belongs to them. I suggest the same for police stations and hospitals and so on. In the case of the last two examples, get as much information from them as possible and then phone back AFTER verifying the number using a directory service. The reason for this is that it may not be your local police department or hospital calling you. This may increase your bills, but this will still be cheaper than the misery you will experience once your identity has been stolen.

In the USA you can use http://phonenumbers.addresses.com/phone.php but in other countries try using you preferred search engine and type "reverse telephone number lookup" or variations on that. The point is that you should never trust incoming phone calls unless you know the source. "Phone spoofing", the jargon for this type of activity, has existed ever since the phone was invented in 1860 (by Antonio Meucci) ... Yes, I know that Alexander Graham Bell is always accredited with its invention, but he invented the telephone(in 1875) in its modern form which we recognise today.

Phone spoofing has always been easy, becausethe victim will never know
1) the location of the caller
2) the intention of the caller
3) the genuiness of the caller
4) and the inability to see the caller

The latter is very important because humans are very visually aware. We all, subconciously, read the expressions of people we see. This ability allows us to determine what state the person is in, ie. happy, sad, friendly, bent on malice, and so on. With telephones we lose this ability, and moreover, we also lose the ability hear the most subtle changes in speech and tone. For all these reasons, and many more, phone spoofing has a higher success rate than you may expect.

As usual, be cautious and apply common sense.