Fyi, Latest Bank Scam, Be Aware!

[ToraToraTora]

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/beatthescammers/article-4323924/Three-Santander-customers-lose-36k-smishing-scam.html
This was featured on Watchdog last night, I put it in news because most come here.

[murraymints]

barclays are good at blocking any suspicious transactions ..and to notify you to call them in order to authorise....bit of a red face when my card was denied when buying new carpets though...'till shop let me use their phone !! lesson: if you are going to mass buy carpets do it weekly !! lol

[albaqwerty]

talking of smatphones, the older alba uses his for banking business, transferring and paying etc.
So far, he has never had a problem with a weird or unexpected text.

[maggiebee]

I too received a text message from Santander a few months ago informing me of some "unusual activity" on my account and giving me a number to call. Always suspicious, I phoned my own branch and was put through to their fraud section. Turns out it was genuine and they stopped two unauthorised payments.

[Ken4155]

On average, i get about 3 to 4 emails per year, 'supposedly' from one bank or another saying they require me to update my details. I have never had any dealings with many of these banks as i have been with Lloyds since the mid 70s. If ever i attempt to perform a transaction for a sum more than i usually do, i am initially refused. I immediately get a text asking if i am actually the person attempting said transaction. Once i have confirmed this, i am then told to wait a couple of minutes before attempting the transaction again. This safeguard assures me somewhat and i am surprised that all banks don't follow this practice.

[Togo]

Same here Ken. I also have a little card reader that I am asked to put my card into enter my atm pin and then to verify with the code that is displayed on the reader before large transactions can be processed to a new recipient.

[jim360]

"If you've ever had a text from your bank, the spoof text will look like it's from them, because it comes from the same number."

How does this work?

[SlackAlice]

Togo
Your on the right track as regards my user name ☺☺☺

Another problem comes from the willingness of people to give out their mobile phone number to all and sundry,, including websites. I have a mobile but rarely disclose my phone number and guess what? I rarely get scam calls on it!

Difficult I know if you only have a mobile phone but forethought is needed.

[Togo]

Like I said Jim, despite a very good refutation of the idea, I am convinced it can only be managed with inside info. All the people scammed had rather large sums in their current accounts.

[jim360]

I'd be inclined to wait for the explanation before assuming an inside job.

[bhg481]

Togo //All the people scammed had rather large sums in their current accounts//
Maybe it's because small amounts being scammed wouldn't make it to the newspapers. When did you last see a headline "Man has £1 scammed from his account. Bank refuses to compensate"?

[Togo]

Lol @ Minty. I was thinking more the Chubby Brown version Minty.
Sorry for diversion 3T.

[Togo]

Would the scammers really be bothered for £1 BH? Don't think so, they are targeting accounts with largish sums in them. Like I said.

[bhg481]

I think they target anybody and take what they can - I had a £5 cinema ticket taken from one of my credit cards some years ago; I don't think that would have made the papers.

[jim360]

I think it's probably a mistake to talk about scammers "targeting" specific accounts though. Usually their approach is closer to a scattergun: send out thousands and thousands of spam emails, text, etc, and hope that just one or two in ten thousand of the people they reach is fooled. And just one or two of those people need to have a reasonable amount of money for it to be profitable.

There's no need for a sophisticated, specifically-targeted approach that way.

[bhg481]

I think the other point is that they don't actually know what's in your account until they've got into it. At that point they just take what you've got. Large amounts make headlines; small amounts don't.

[sp1814]

jim360

It's a bit like when you get an email which looks like it comes from [email protected], whereas the real address is a long random string from some fraudster.

In 'smishing' attacks, all the fraudster needs to know is that your bank's customer services number is 0845 123123, and they can disguise their number to look like your bank's number.

They don't ask you to call that number in the text. Instead they direct you to a spoof version of your online bank (will look like your bank, but the whole thing is faked).

Once there, they will trick you into entering your details.

Or they might even ask for your details in the text..because the number you will be texting won't be your bank's - even though it looking like it.

[jim360]

Yeah apparently it's not that hard at all. I could send something like 200 spoof Santander texts myself for £50 this morning if I wanted to. Only need one of those to work, as in hit a gullible Santander customer, to make my moeny back and then some.

[Togo]

https://www.lovemoney.com/news/63249/santander-smishing-text-message-one-time-passcode-scam

Good link. Worth a read.

[trt]

## Gloria Hunniford had her account wiped out by some fraudster going in to the branch and claiming to be her #

I remember that, it was ironic as she and the other two do programmes about fraud.

[hc4361]

Yes, indeed, trt. There was absolutely nothing she could have done to prevent the fraud but it is a worry that somebody can walk in to your bank and empty your account.