[CanSpice]

I seem to recall that when I called my US bank, they would ask me for the last three or four digits of my SSN to confirm I am who I am. My bank in Canada always asks me for my birthdate.

Yes, companies you do business with do ask for your personal information. While you definitely shouldn't give out your personal information to someone who calls you, it's common-place to have to give your personal information to a business that you have called.

In this case, the person received an email saying "please call this number". Legitimate businesses do this as well (I got one from my bank: http://canspice.org/2013/06/06/cibc-credit-card-fraud-depart...).