Never give any personal info over the phone

IS IT correct and lawful for businesses to phone you and verify your personal and secure details before proceeding with their business with you? I think not.

Many of us might have received calls like that. And if you do not verify your personal and secure information, the caller might give you all sorts of reasons why you should provide the information.

And, worst of all, how do you know that the person is phoning from your bank or where they say they are calling from?

And then there are the cold sales calls that ask for all your details, right down to your home address for so-called deliveries.

Where do these telesales companies obtain your information from?

I was once told over the phone that they got my details from the "South African Data Centre" and that anybody can approach this centre and obtain the information.

I do not know of the existence of such a centre and I certainly have not given my details to them.

Without your consent and knowledge your personal and secure information could be traded by businesses for money.

Your personal data is a valuable commodity that should be protected at all times, especially from people who would like to profit from such information.

You can ask a cold caller where they got your information from and insist that they remove you from their lists.

Protect your personal information and do not just give it out because you never know in whose hands the information will fall.