surprised too, once i read it all started with a phone call from author's bank. your bank will "almost" never ask you for your info on the phone. if they do, you don't have to provide it. you can ask to go to a branch in-person, or log onto the website to provide the required information.

all banks should often remind their customers of this. mine does.

banks and phone carriers should do scam and fraud trainings for customers. or friendly reminders.