I don’t particularly like banks. I hate identity thieves. I really hate it when I can’t tell the difference between the two.

This afternoon, my office phone rang. It was an 800 number that I didn’t recognize. When I answered, there was a recorded message identifying it as Chase, my bank, and requesting that I call them back on the same number.

Being a fairly savvy individual, I found this rather strange. Usually, when you answer an automatic call like that, you’re either immediately transferred to a live rep, or asked to push a particular key to be transferred. My scam-senses were triggered, so I called the number back to get to the bottom of things.

My call was answered with an automatic menu purporting to be the Chase Collection department. I listened to the message, then pressed “1” for “all other calls.” A few moments later, a female voice came on the line, identified herself (unfortunately, she spoke too quickly for me to get her name) and asked for my telephone number.

At this point, I was really skeptical. It was odd enough that they called me and asked me to call them back, but now they wanted personal information. I’ve seen enough scam alerts to know that the bank doesn’t call you and ask for personal information. It’s almost always the case that large companies have a caller-ID-based recognition system, and since I called from my business line, I found it very odd that they didn’t already know who was calling.

I expressed my concern to the representative, expecting her to offer some form of validation that she actually was a Chase representative. Instead, she got an attitude! Now, collections agents don’t have a reputation for particularly spectacular customer service, but I certainly don’t expect them to become abusive with a customer concerned about being scammed.

She informed me that she was a Chase representative, and that I needed to give her my information now. I responded that I was uncomfortable with the process, and wanted confirmation that I was actually dealing with Chase. I indicated that my account is serviced by a personal banker, and that if there was a problem with my account, my banker would be able to resolve it. Now, I’m not a high-roller by any stretch of the imagination, but I have several business and personal accounts with Chase, as well as some investments, and there is one personal banker at my branch that always handles my accounts.

Instead of taking the approach I expected and encouraging me to contact my local branch for confirmation, the representative announced that I had no choice but to deal with her directly, and that I had better give her my information immediately. At that point, I was ready to call the Federal Trade Commission to report a banking scam, so I informed her that I would handle the issue with my local branch, and hung up.

I called my banker at the local branch immediately, and explained what had gone on, much to her shock. She checked into it and discovered that the number is indeed a valid number for Chase collections, though she couldn’t imagine them acting in the way they did.

After a little checking, she was able to find the source of the matter: one of my infrequently-used accounts (an escrow account of sorts) was overdrawn by $0.11, due to a computer glitch, which she immediately corrected. As it had only been overdrawn for a couple of days, and was a minuscule amount, she couldn’t figure out why collections would have been involved. Indeed, there hadn’t even been time for their system to generate and send a notice to me. It was all very strange.

She promised to investigate further, and refer the nasty treatment by the collections rep to the branch manager for resolution, which I appreciate. However, I have to wonder, how many other people out there have been subjected to the same process?

Banks are charged with safeguarding our money, as well as our personal information. I don’t think it’s too much to ask for them to take steps to provide a sense of security when calling their service numbers. When it comes to the point that you can’t tell the difference between a real bank representative and someone trying to steal your identity because of what the bank is doing, there is a serious problem.

I’ll be considering whether I want to continue my relationship with Chase. I’d like to hear from others, particularly those who have had similar experiences with Chase or another bank. I really have to say, I expected more.