Virgin rings customers for their passwords

 

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By Matthew Sparkes

Posted on 21 Feb 2008 at 11:17

Virgin Media has admitted cold calling customers and asking them to confirm their passwords over the phone.

The Guardian reports the ISP has been ringing customers and asking them to provide their home address and password to comply with the Data Protection Act, before asking them to answer questions for a services review.

The Guardian reporter and PC Pro contributor, Scott Colvey, was one of those called by the Virgin staff.

Virgin Media confirmed to PC Pro that customer service staff ask for an account password by default, in order to identify customers. "One of the ways that's done is to check passwords. It's part of the standard process. The point with that process is that we have to do that to protect ourselves," claims a company spokesperson.

However, the company suggests on its own website that such behaviour is bad practice, advising that "proper organisations will never send you emails asking for personal information or asking you to update your details."

The Home Office offers similar advice, suggesting that customers should never give out personal details over the phone.

"The Home Office advice is very much based on protecting the customer from fraudulent calls. That's good advice," says a Virgin Media spokesperson, despite the fact that the company doesn't practice what it, and the Home Office, preaches.

Virgin Media suggested that any customers unwilling to give out password details should inform customer services, who will provide them with a number to call back on, or proceed through an array of security questions as an alternative identification process.