Have you ever gotten a call from a credit card company purporting to be from their security department asking to verify a charge? Asking to call a special number for the fraud/verification department? With the person who answers asking for personal identifying information such as mother's maiden name?

I have multiple times. I ask the credit cards to authenticate. Do the credit card companies authenticate? No.

They tell customers never to give out such secret personal identifying information to strangers. Now a stranger calls and asks for it. Oops.

A credit card fraud department, should ask the card customers to call the main customer service number on the back of their cards and press a button for the fraud department.

Otherwise, the bank may find its fraud department outsourced. Without permission.

What you describe happening is very bad policy.

I would never accept a call from _Anyone_ because I can't confirm who they are. I would immediately ask for their name, and then to talk with their manager. I would not participate in giving them any information.

I would call the credit card company number on the card and discuss. If this was their normal policy then I would cancel my account. Seriously.

It is the policy to "confirm" transaction in order to prevent potential fraud. As long as you don't give out info then this would be OK.

--Fred