How Do I Verify A Caller?

Call back on a trusted number

The most reliable way to verify a caller is to end the call politely and ring back on a number you find for yourself. Look up the business's official website and use the phone number published there. When you place the call this way, you control the connection and you know exactly who you are reaching, which removes most of the uncertainty in one simple step.

A genuine caller will fully understand if you prefer to call back, and will not object or try to talk you out of it. If someone pressures you to stay on the line, insists you must not hang up, or becomes irritated at the idea of you verifying, treat that reaction as a warning sign in itself rather than a reason to comply. Wanting to confirm who you are speaking to before sharing anything is simply sensible, and a legitimate business expects it.

Why caller ID is not enough

The number or name shown on your phone can be imitated, so caller ID alone does not prove who is really calling. Scammers can make a call appear to come from a familiar or official-looking number, which is exactly why a convincing display should never be the sole basis for your trust. The information on your screen is only as reliable as whoever arranged the call wanted it to be.

Calling back on an independently sourced number sidesteps this problem entirely. Once you do, you are no longer relying on whatever the incoming call claimed to be; you are reaching the business through a channel you confirmed yourself. This is why the call-back habit is so effective: it shifts you from trusting an unverified display to trusting a route you established, and that difference is what keeps you safe.

What a genuine caller will not ask

On a legitimate call, there are certain things you should simply never be asked to reveal, no matter how the request is framed or how urgent it is made to sound. Knowing this list in advance makes it much easier to recognise when a call has overstepped.

• Your full card number, with the expiry and security code together.
• Your online banking passwords or PINs.
• One-time verification codes sent to your phone.

If a caller asks for any of these, do not provide them, and do not be swayed by reassurances that it is safe or necessary. Our guidance on the details you should never share explains why these requests are such a clear red flag, and why a genuine process is built so that it never needs to ask.

After a suspicious call

If a call felt wrong in any way, you are under no obligation to act on anything it asked of you. Take your time, verify independently through a channel you trust, and proceed only once you are genuinely confident about who you were speaking to and what they wanted. A short delay costs nothing, whereas acting on an unverified call can cost a great deal.

For a call claiming to be from Merion, you can confirm by reaching us through our official website, merion.com.au, or by contacting us directly. If you believe the caller was not genuine, you can report the call to Scamwatch at scamwatch.gov.au, which helps protect others. Trusting your instincts and checking afterwards is always a reasonable response, and it is far better to verify a genuine call than to act on a fraudulent one.