Journal: Bank phone systems are not as secure as you think they are

I called the Bank of America credit card hotline to ask about a charge I thought was unauthorized on my card. I've never thought twice about giving my social security number or banking information to my bank over the phone as I've always assumed that as long as I call the correct number, I'll be transferred to someone inside the company. When I called today, however, I was told I was going to be transferred to credit services, then bounced to a number which immediately asked for my credit card, then informed me that 'I can talk to their hot operators for as little as $0.69 a minute.' While this in and of itself is little more than a funny error - although it was a security risk - this presents all sorts of new problems. Apparently, Bank of America call center employees can transfer you to any number they wish without any sort of filtering (Bank of America informed me that they were aware of the similarity between one of their internal numbers and that of the phone sex line, which meant they were aware and had a chance to filter it. They also told me that it's standard procedure to transfer credit card dispute issues to outside numbers as a courtesy when the problem lies with the merchant and not the bank.) This, however, leads to greater concerns. I take it for granted that the bank's customer service lines are secure, but who's to say that I won't be transferred over to a 'fake' call center by an insider working at Bank of America which will then collect all my personal banking information?