Stacey Beattie asked:
Susan Littlegate has been a victim of online fraud not once but twice. In September last year her debit card was used in bank fraud transactions in Brazil, on the over side of the world. Luckily her bank spotted the irregularity of the transaction and cancelled it. The second time she was simply online shopping when her bank card was refused. Upon checking her bank statement her balance had been wiped to zero – her card had been ‘cloned’ and her bank account emptied.
When these situations occur it can be devastating. After Susan’s second experience of bank card online fraud it took well over a month for her bank to retrieve the money, resulting in finance charges for her unpaid mortgage and credit card payments.
It begs the question: – “How would you manage a month with no access your bank funds”?
Rise In Online Bank Fraud
Online bank fraud is on the up and incidents in 2008 alone totalled a staggering £52.5 million in the UK alone.
Nearly 15m people in the UK use the internet for finance and banking services and the most significant rise in online fraud is when criminals take over someone’s bank account through card ID theft with losses up by 39% in 2008.
Online Fraud Tactics
Online fraudsters are known to use a device called key logging. It is software that tracks what you type in order to collect bank passwords and credit card details. These malicious computer software programs usually find their way onto a computer when a user clicks on an unsolicited e-mail.
Another fraud tactic is ‘Phishing’ where an email is sent pretending to be from your bank asking you to click on a link which will take you to a fake website identical to your own bank site and ask you to confirm your personal bank finance details.
‘Chip and pin’ bank cards were introduced by UK banks in 2004 and proved to be successful in lowering the amount of banking frauds but as online banking has
become increasing popular, with consumers taking advantage of the chance to bank from their armchairs, online bank fraud has started to rise again.
Protecting Yourself
Despite the large number of internet users many have no idea how to protect themselves online. In order to bank safe online it is essential you play your part in making sure you do not become a fraud victim.
Here are five online finance recommendations to help protect yourself against online fraud: -
1 One in four people do not carry out any checks to see whether a site is safe and secure before carrying out a transaction. It is essential that you stay vigilant and never relax your guard while shopping online or carrying out financial transactions. Free anti fraud software is available by McAfee to check whether a site is safe before you click on it. Make sure your firewalls are always turned on and you antivirus software is always kept up to date.
2 Always make sure you log out of sites when you have finished your shopping/transactions. If you stay logged in it means your financial details are available to others.
3 Don’t open emails from people that you do not know. Do not click on a link especially if it is in the email and it asks you for personal finance bank details. If you have any doubts about the authenticity of the email do not respond. Beware of emails which offer you a prize or a discount which requires you to choose a user id and password (as many people use the same details for many bank accounts and thieves will collect these details and try to use them). Any emails which have a sense of urgency or ask you for personal finance or bank details be wary of.
4 It is advised that you change your online bank password every 60 days. All sites that you have an account with will let you easily change your password usually by following a very simple and quick set of procedures. Changing your password regularly will help limit the accounts exposure and misuse, meaning less danger of online fraud. To make your password harder to guess use a mixture of upper case, lower case and number (as long as you can remember it!).
5 Stay in control of your money. The Eclipse prepaid MasterCard is a great way to do just that. The Eclipse card is not a credit card so you do not need to worry about debt or fraud and it is not debit card so it is in no way linked to your online bank account. You are not able to borrow money; you simply can only spend what you have loaded onto the card, meaning you are completely
in control of your money. As it is not linked to your online bank account it means people will not be able to fraudulently carry out any activities with your personal banking details. It literally takes seconds to top up your card either using your phone, wire transfer or online banking. You can also use cash to top up at the post office, Paypoint or using a top up pack.
Anyone in the UK who does fall victim of online fraud will have their money reimbursed as long as they have acted with ‘reasonable care’ and not in a fraudulent manner. If you do fall victim to online fraud there are many places where you can get help and advice, including: -
http://www.apacs.org.ukhttp://www.cardwatch.org.uk/
http://www.eclipsecard.co.uk/eclipse_card/Online_security
Frank
Susan Littlegate has been a victim of online fraud not once but twice. In September last year her debit card was used in bank fraud transactions in Brazil, on the over side of the world. Luckily her bank spotted the irregularity of the transaction and cancelled it. The second time she was simply online shopping when her bank card was refused. Upon checking her bank statement her balance had been wiped to zero – her card had been ‘cloned’ and her bank account emptied.
When these situations occur it can be devastating. After Susan’s second experience of bank card online fraud it took well over a month for her bank to retrieve the money, resulting in finance charges for her unpaid mortgage and credit card payments.
It begs the question: – “How would you manage a month with no access your bank funds”?
Rise In Online Bank Fraud
Online bank fraud is on the up and incidents in 2008 alone totalled a staggering £52.5 million in the UK alone.
Nearly 15m people in the UK use the internet for finance and banking services and the most significant rise in online fraud is when criminals take over someone’s bank account through card ID theft with losses up by 39% in 2008.
Online Fraud Tactics
Online fraudsters are known to use a device called key logging. It is software that tracks what you type in order to collect bank passwords and credit card details. These malicious computer software programs usually find their way onto a computer when a user clicks on an unsolicited e-mail.
Another fraud tactic is ‘Phishing’ where an email is sent pretending to be from your bank asking you to click on a link which will take you to a fake website identical to your own bank site and ask you to confirm your personal bank finance details.
‘Chip and pin’ bank cards were introduced by UK banks in 2004 and proved to be successful in lowering the amount of banking frauds but as online banking has
become increasing popular, with consumers taking advantage of the chance to bank from their armchairs, online bank fraud has started to rise again.
Protecting Yourself
Despite the large number of internet users many have no idea how to protect themselves online. In order to bank safe online it is essential you play your part in making sure you do not become a fraud victim.
Here are five online finance recommendations to help protect yourself against online fraud: -
1 One in four people do not carry out any checks to see whether a site is safe and secure before carrying out a transaction. It is essential that you stay vigilant and never relax your guard while shopping online or carrying out financial transactions. Free anti fraud software is available by McAfee to check whether a site is safe before you click on it. Make sure your firewalls are always turned on and you antivirus software is always kept up to date.
2 Always make sure you log out of sites when you have finished your shopping/transactions. If you stay logged in it means your financial details are available to others.
3 Don’t open emails from people that you do not know. Do not click on a link especially if it is in the email and it asks you for personal finance bank details. If you have any doubts about the authenticity of the email do not respond. Beware of emails which offer you a prize or a discount which requires you to choose a user id and password (as many people use the same details for many bank accounts and thieves will collect these details and try to use them). Any emails which have a sense of urgency or ask you for personal finance or bank details be wary of.
4 It is advised that you change your online bank password every 60 days. All sites that you have an account with will let you easily change your password usually by following a very simple and quick set of procedures. Changing your password regularly will help limit the accounts exposure and misuse, meaning less danger of online fraud. To make your password harder to guess use a mixture of upper case, lower case and number (as long as you can remember it!).
5 Stay in control of your money. The Eclipse prepaid MasterCard is a great way to do just that. The Eclipse card is not a credit card so you do not need to worry about debt or fraud and it is not debit card so it is in no way linked to your online bank account. You are not able to borrow money; you simply can only spend what you have loaded onto the card, meaning you are completely
in control of your money. As it is not linked to your online bank account it means people will not be able to fraudulently carry out any activities with your personal banking details. It literally takes seconds to top up your card either using your phone, wire transfer or online banking. You can also use cash to top up at the post office, Paypoint or using a top up pack.
Anyone in the UK who does fall victim of online fraud will have their money reimbursed as long as they have acted with ‘reasonable care’ and not in a fraudulent manner. If you do fall victim to online fraud there are many places where you can get help and advice, including: -
http://www.apacs.org.ukhttp://www.cardwatch.org.uk/
http://www.eclipsecard.co.uk/eclipse_card/Online_security
Frank
