I can be a real pain to cold callers, especially ones who phone me trying to get me to discuss things to do with money. Many are in call centres on some other continent, have no idea who I am, and are simply doing their job following a moronic script that has been thought up for them my some psychologist in a marketing department thousands of miles away. Annoying, but fundamentally harmless. Others are not so nice, being people preying on the unwary to obtain bank account details or information useful in impersonating others or for attacking the security systems designed as protections for peoples' hard-earned money.

My approach is simple. I don't talk to them. I don't confirm or deny anything at all, I don't acknowledge if I am a customer of their establishment or not. I simply say, politely the first time, that I don't discuss business or money on the phone and that they should write to me. (I never help them by saying anything more).

If they persist I ask them for the 'security code'. This usually throws them off script, as they will not have a 'security code' in order to help me recognise them (it's always a one-way street with banks where security is concerned). I explain that without the security code, it is 'against policy' to continue telephone conversations on this line.

If they persist - I have known them to phone back a few minutes later - I ask them if the conversation is being recorded for training purposes. I then ask them to seek further training on the Harrassment Act and tell them never to phone me again.

Sometimes it is funny being phoned like this, and sometimes it is downright creepy and unpleasant. I do not, however, ever waiver from my resolve never to discuss money with people who have initiated the call.

This may seem like paranoia, and it often does lead me to being less friendly than I would like - sometimes being rather brusque and short with people, but there are good reasons for my caution, confirmed this week by the news that Walthamstow comes 6th in a CIFAS survey of areas where people and businesses are likely to be victims of fraud. CIFAS ascribes this to a local characteristic that the area 'has a dense population where material wealth and disadvantage can be found in close proximity'. I suspect it is more complex than that, but whatever the reasons, better safe than sorry.