Why are recruiting companies asking for word documents now?

I've been in the job search market for awhile now and something recently started happening that has me confused...

Why are recruiting companies asking for a word document of my resume? I've been taught to never relinquish that because it allows someone I don't know to change my brand without my consent. Instead, I always provide a PDF.

With that being said, I know who the company is now, so should I just apply through the company site, go through the recruiter, or both?

On an unrelated note, the recruiter also asked me to call them instead of the other way around...is that normal?

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