# Bank account hacked



## Highlander (Sep 23, 2013)

Well there I was trying to logon to Internet Banking and found I couldn't get in.   So managed to change the password and eventually got signed in.  To my horror someone had transferred over a ?1000 from my Credit Card account.  So I phoned the bank who put me through to the Fraud Dept.   The told me that someone had phoned Telephone Banking, got through security, and changed my password, topped up their Mobile phone and transferred the money to another account.  All very worrying as we were off to Edinburgh the next day.

Anyway I have had to completely reset my Internet Banking and am waiting for a new Credit Card.   The money has already been credited back.  I have had to scan my computer several times, but no malaware has been found.  I have even changed the security phrase.    This is all very worrying as I keep all this type of information very secure.   The bank think that my credit card details were lifted from some online transaction,  The Credit Card is in fact one I keep solely for online transaction.

So from now on, I will be checking my Internet Bank far more often and changing the password every now and again.


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## Northerner (Sep 23, 2013)

Very sorry to hear this Vic, but pleased to hear you have not lost money - very worrying for you though 

It just shows how vulnerable we can be, and especially those who don't always take all the necessary precautions if this can happen to someone who does. Hope you don't encounter any further problems


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## David H (Sep 23, 2013)

Highlander said:


> Well there I was trying to logon to Internet Banking and found I couldn't get in.   So managed to change the password and eventually got signed in.  To my horror someone had transferred over a ?1000 from my Credit Card account.  So I phoned the bank who put me through to the Fraud Dept.   The told me that someone had phoned Telephone Banking, got through security, and changed my password, topped up their Mobile phone and transferred the money to another account.  All very worrying as we were off to Edinburgh the next day.
> 
> Anyway I have had to completely reset my Internet Banking and am waiting for a new Credit Card.   The money has already been credited back.  I have had to scan my computer several times, but no malaware has been found.  I have even changed the security phrase.    This is all very worrying as I keep all this type of information very secure.   The bank think that my credit card details were lifted from some online transaction,  The Credit Card is in fact one I keep solely for online transaction.
> 
> So from now on, I will be checking my Internet Bank far more often and changing the password every now and again.



A good practice is to get a second card visa debit and only transfer the amount you intend spending + allow for currency differences and charges.

If you don't have money on the card they can't get it!


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## Steff (Sep 23, 2013)

Sorry to  hear this Vic seems to be happening all to often now grr, pleased you lost no cash tho


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## HelenP (Sep 24, 2013)

And my friends think I'm mad/square/abnormal because I won't do online banking!  Glad you got your money reimbursed, but it's scary that someone can help themselves to your money without even leaving their living room!

xx


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## Royston46 (Sep 25, 2013)

Hi Vic,

This has also happened to me but it was ?7k that went missing from our current account also not so long ago my wifes email account got hacked 
very very disturbing


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## Highlander (Oct 11, 2013)

Would you believe it, got new Credit Cards and within a week someone tried to transfer ?14,500 from it,  luckily the bank stopped it.   They think it is somewhere I used the card online, but I am baffled by this, as I only use certain sites and not strange places.   So, just in case I have had to wipe my hard disk and rebuilt it from scratch.

I am so stressed over this.  Luckily so far I have not lost anything.


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## ypauly (Oct 11, 2013)

I would change your password for everything you use online that can give people information. Emails especially but even social network sites.

Change the passwords of the emails first in case somebody else receives the confirmation of the others and do it from a different computer.


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## robert@fm (Oct 11, 2013)

If you use different passwords for all sites (or at least for sites where unauthorised access could cost you money or otherwise harm you, such as Amazon, your bank and your email(s)), the danger of a criminal getting access to _all_ your stuff is greatly reduced, if not eliminated.

I use weak (easily remembered and typed) passwords for forum sites, since the worst that can happen is that I get banned because someone else made a bad post under my name (I actually _did_ have someone abuse my EmailDiscussions account once, but the vast difference in style made it obvious that it wasn't me, and I changed my password and had the mods delete the offending thread), but for email, banking etc. I use highly-randomised passwords (a mixture of upper- and lower-case letters and digits and symbols if the site permits it; I have an Excel spreadsheet to generate them) and store them in an encrypted Word document, the password to which I take care not to forget. 

(I had one nasty experience regarding my password-repository file; I found the hard way that Open Office (the version I had) will _load_ encrypted Word files, but on _saving_ silently converts them to unencrypted, which of course is very dangerous behaviour. I hope that Libre Office has fixed this bug.)


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## Flutterby (Oct 11, 2013)

Sorry to hear this.  I am going to advise hubby to now get a seperate credit card for online stuff.  Glad you got your money credited back to you.  Horrible experience though.  We had a credit card sent out to an old address even though we'd cancelled the card due to an argument with the company.  It got used and finally they traced us and started proceedings.  The credit card company were useless and in the end they got so mad with us they referred it to their fraud dept who were brilliant and sorted it all out.  Scary though at the time.


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## Highlander (Oct 12, 2013)

Thank you all for the helpful replies.    All my passwords have been changed as I prefer strong passwords, having worked in IT for 30 years, and us as many different characters as possible.   Many are even total gibberish.   I also recently changed by Broadband to Plusnet so have also changed email addresses.   I am now also using a different PC for any online transactions, despite rebuilding my main PC.   The Bank think it is somewhere I have used the card online, so am checking after all sites I use.   This is all very frustrating and so stressful, not doing my poorly ticker a lot of good either.


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## Caroline (Oct 15, 2013)

Credit card fraud is VERY VERY VERY annoying, my son has been done once and hubby has been done 3 times, they use different banks. I am reasonably certain where the fraud is originating and have told them in no uncertain terms STOP using that site.

It is funny thoe we all use the same computer, but I am not tempting fete by saying what I am thinking....


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## Naty (Nov 7, 2013)

Remember this thread?  I think I commented earlier on in it that I'd been the victim of credit card fraud, THREE times...

...today it was the turn of my current account...

Direct debit set up for TalkTalk, who I have never been with.  Half an hour on the phone to my bank and also TalkTalk ("are you sure you've not given your bank details to anyone else?" "um, NO"), then half my lunch hour in the bank as I decided to open a new account with a different number, and the whole day fuming.


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## Northerner (Nov 7, 2013)

Naty said:


> Remember this thread?  I think I commented earlier on in it that I'd been the victim of credit card fraud, THREE times...
> 
> ...today it was the turn of my current account...
> 
> Direct debit set up for TalkTalk, who I have never been with.  Half an hour on the phone to my bank and also TalkTalk ("are you sure you've not given your bank details to anyone else?" "um, NO"), then half my lunch hour in the bank as I decided to open a new account with a different number, and the whole day fuming.



Really sorry to hear this Naty  Wonder how it could have happened? Hope you don't lose out at all.


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## Steff (Nov 7, 2013)

Naty sorry to hear this it is such a stressful situation to find yourself in as ive suffered it, Hope you are much safer this time around x x


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## Naty (Nov 7, 2013)

Thanks Northerner and Steff... the money has been returned to me, but nonetheless...

We (me and my flatmate) live in a block of flats and we thought that the previous frauds had been to do with people getting access to our post.  So a lot of my banking stuff now goes to my work address, _including_ the account involved today.  So I really don't know this time.  I suppose fraudsters are just getting cleverer and cleverer.  Either that, or Talk Talk have very sloppy procedures when it comes to direct debit instructions - someone had instructed them, with MY details


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## Northerner (Nov 7, 2013)

Naty said:


> Thanks Northerner and Steff... the money has been returned to me, but nonetheless...
> 
> We (me and my flatmate) live in a block of flats and we thought that the previous frauds had been to do with people getting access to our post.  So a lot of my banking stuff now goes to my work address, _including_ the account involved today.  So I really don't know this time.  I suppose fraudsters are just getting cleverer and cleverer.  Either that, or Talk Talk have very sloppy procedures when it comes to direct debit instructions - someone had instructed them, with MY details



I knew I'd read about this recently:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24085200


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## Naty (Nov 7, 2013)

Thanks for sharing that Northerner.  Pffft, what can you do?


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## Northerner (Nov 8, 2013)

Naty said:


> Thanks for sharing that Northerner.  Pffft, what can you do?



It does seem to be an absolutely ridiculous situation  All they need to do is pick up your sort code and account number from somewhere


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## Naty (Nov 8, 2013)

Northerner said:


> It does seem to be an absolutely ridiculous situation  All they need to do is pick up your sort code and account number from somewhere



Or - just keep trying different combinations until they get 'lucky'


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## AlisonM (Nov 8, 2013)

I always shred and burn things that carry personal data these days as I had my identity stolen when I was still living in London. Mail was always just dumped in the communal hall so it was really easy from someone with no honourable intentions to pinch anything that looked interesting, like the oh so easily spotted brown government envelopes. 

When the police came to arrest me for benefit fraud, they were rather surprised that I wasn't a 40 year old Jamaican woman with 5 kids. I had to produce my passport and birth certificate to prove I was me and then they sent plod round to talk to my mum, who had hysterics thinking I'd been murdered or something. The real culprit was caught about a year later and turned out to be a 22 year old Asian bloke living in a flat up stairs. 

These days, my bank uses a two-part login system with a code number first and then a card reader that gives you another code that changes every time. Plus, I'm always very careful who I buy from online and never let anyone in a restaurant or shop take my card out of my sight. I've been lucky so far and not had any problems of that sort.

If I get an email from anyone saying something "your bill/statement is ready to check. Please click on the link..." I go to the site independently and check it that way.

And finally. I never, never, never open email attachments from people I don't know. Or even people I do know, unless they've told me they were sending something. If they haven't I'll check first.

Paranoid? Moi? Surely not.


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