Fraud: money taken from my bank account

pennypincher2013

I've had a few hundred taken from my bank account; two transactions taken out on the same day. Bank has refunded me and their fraud department is investigating.
I don't know how this has happened but I hope to do my very best to protect myself online. What advice can you give?
I use Avira and it is up to date. I don't do that many online purchases.

AndyPix

Hi, im sorry to hear about that. Im glad the bank refunded you ..


So lets start by first making sure your computer is clean ..


Run this : https://www.malwarebytes.com/mwb-download/thankyou/


Followed by this : https://www.malwarebytes.com/adwcleaner/


Let them both scan in turn and delete anything that they find ..


Its hard to say retrospectively where you have leaked your bank details from, but a biggy is "phishing" via email.
So moving forward, The first advice would be never ever open any attachment in an email, unless you were expecting to receive it.
Same applies to clicking on any links within emails.


They are often crafted very cleverly to look like they are from somewhere legitimate, and to try to shock or scare you into clicking the link/opening the attachment ..


eg, thank you for your purchase, your account will be debited by £2198.69 in the next 3 days.
If there are any problems then please click here ...


Or by an attachment discuised as an invoice or such ..


There are many knowledgeable people on here and im sure more great advice will follow


Andy

eddddy

pennypincher2013 wrote: »

I've had a few hundred taken from my bank account; two transactions taken out on the same day. Bank has refunded me and their fraud department is investigating.
I don't know how this has happened but I hope to do my very best to protect myself online. What advice can you give?
I use Avira and it is up to date. I don't do that many online purchases.

How did they take the money?

For example, was it...

1. Using your debit card details
2. By setting up a direct debit
3. By logging into your online banking


Option 3 would be the most worrying by far - but they would probably have emptied your account, rather than taking a few hundred.

If it's option 1 or 2, it's less likely to be related to malware on your computer.

It's more likely to be that the details were stolen from somewhere you used your card (or paid by cheque etc). Or could you have entered any details into dodgy websites (as a result of phishing), given info over the phone to scammers etc?

Who were the recipients of the few hundred pounds in fraudulent payments?

shaun_from_Africa

Do you know how the money was taken? (ie, from a cashpoint or directly via bank transfer).


However it was, if you've not already asked for any cards associated with the account to be cancelled and new one issued, I would get this done immediately.
I would also suggest running a full malware scan (Malwarebytes)on your computer and changing any banking passwords that you use.

agrinnall

It can't hurt to do the scans suggested, but may be unnecessary depending on how the money was actually taken. If it was me I would add more detail and get the thread moved to the Banking board where it'll be seen by more people with the relevant financial (rather then technical) expertise.

RumRat

On line the best protection, beyond all others, is common sense.

tazwhoever

Quick question - is kaspersky internet security (safe money) the best option for online transactions?

forgotmyname

Not opening dodgy emails and treble checking the banking site your logging into is actually your banks site.

Visiting dodgy sites and downloading dodgy files from them or from emails is possibly one of the main reasons.

Sometimes that useful free program your using is not what it seems.

I used to chat to someone who was into the security stuff, he showed me how a small useful program could be installed and be safe but a small update which wont trip the AV or FW software but can read data from your PC and then after it updates to remove it.
Clever stuff. He got me to create a word doc and type something in and save it. As soon as i saved it he read back what i hat written in it.

Clever stuff.

patman99

They may not have gained access to your bank details via online methods.

Do you have a contactless card?. If so, it would be more likely that they used a rooted mobile phone with NFC built in to scan your card details without you even knowing.

jshm2

Was the money taken via ATM, transactions, or transfer?

If it was ATM then it's more likely you've used a dodgy ATM or crooked cashier and they've cloned your card. In this case your computer is innocent.

Occasional_flyer

I have been a customer of Barclays Bank for over 50 years. Both my son and daughter joined them when reaching the age when they in turn needed banking services. My daughter has now had a very worrying experience with this outfit. To cut a long story short, about a month ago she had her account hacked, and something over £1500 was cleared out of her current account, together with a further £500 from a savings account. She reported that fraud immediately, and met with a stone wall on beaurocrats from the bank. They did, however agree to change all the security questions etc associated with the account while investigation proceeded.
Forms were sent, which she completed and returned by post.
IT HAS NOW HAPPENED AGAIN !, once more just after she has been paid. After over FOUR HOURS on the phone which got her nowhere she went to a local branch of Barclays, to discover that they have NO RECORD OF THE FORMS BEING RECEIVED, and if that wasn't enough, NO CHANGE OF SECURITY DETAILS HAD BEEN MADE! This is quite possibly the reason that the fraudsters have been able to strike again. Oh , and the Police ? A total waste of space, she was given a 'crime' number and they went back to their doughnuts !!
Perhaps someone from Barclays is reading this sorry tale. If so, they may like to reassure me that this is an isolated case and that the way it has been handled is unusual, but my brief search on Google shows that it is far from the case, and that they appear to be the worst of all the banks.

In short why should I remain a Barclays customer, and instead close all my accounts and take my money elsewhere ?