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It simply said they're "trying to contact me and the interview will only take 5 minutes."

Yep. That was probably about COVID. Health privacy laws prohibit even the vague mention of a condition. The caller has no way of knowing if they have the right phone number, and the last thing you want is "Attention, Rando McUltrarunner at 42 Crustacean Crest Drive, Cleveland, Ohio! You have been infected with COVID! Run, don't walk to your nearest testing facility!" on some stranger's voicemail. Or worse, "We are following up to see if you're doing well after your abortion" ending up on the voicemail or texting app of a 15-year-old girl whose parents might have access to her phone.

Source: Recently completed my company's mandatory annual HIPAA training.



how would authentication work when you/someone does pick up the phone?


Sadly, it breaks down. You ask someone if they are who they are, and that's about all you can do. Someone can lie. Has it ever happened? Probably, but I've never heard of it, and my legal department is pretty good about keeping up on these things. But the way the law is written, asking the question absolves the caller of legal liability.

It's not IT-grade authentication, but for wetware it works.




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