The lesson is, someone call tell you there IS a problem on the phone, but don't trust ANYTHING else, not even the description of the problem.

The absolute only thing they're allowed to tell you is that you need to visit your banking provider tomorrow, not some other bank but your own bank, with only family, and ask what the actual problem is.

My father suffers from vascular dementia. He's pretty agreeable these days (a lot more so than he used to be). Fortunately an underlying suspicion of strangers calling to talk about money on the telephone has triumphed thus far, but I do expect that this balance will change over time.

[0] https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/social-isolation-loneliness-old...

Instead lookup the fraud/accounts contact number for the bank and call them yourself. - aka start the interaction with known good information

The telco's themselves should be held legally responsible for the fraud in these cases.

If I hang up a phone, I expect that to be the end of it, period. Yes, that includes landlines.

Unless you know exactly what you're doing, what you should do in the case of any over-the-phone problem like that, is first contact someone you trust and knows what they're doing. Your own bank, an expert of your choosing (and not chosen by the stranger on the phone), or a knowledgeable friend or family member.

Never trust the stranger on the phone.