Can the publication or issue date of a pending patent application be disclosed over the phone?

According to MPEP 101, particular care must be taken when a caller requests the publication date or issue date assigned to a pending patent application:

“If the publication or issue date is later than the current date (i.e., the date of the request), such information may be given only to the applicant, an inventor, the assignee of record, or the attorney or agent of record.”

The identity and authority of the caller must be verified according to the procedures outlined in the MPEP before this information can be provided over the telephone.