Dad has been hacked

brucefan_2

Given that we've been told that 'hackers can hack anything' and that insurance companies don't pay out until you've asked them 4 times, I suggest that there's no point now in responding to this thread any further.

Would it be possible to lock this thread?

R200

If hack is not the right word then what is? It’s obviously fraud there is no doubt but how was the fraud committed is what the bank can’t tell us.

several transactions sent funds abroad first of all in small amounts getting larger until the bank froze the account

was this a hack or something else?  

eskbanker

R200 said:

If hack is not the right word then what is? It’s obviously fraud there is no doubt but how was the fraud committed is what the bank can’t tell us.

several transactions sent funds abroad first of all in small amounts getting larger until the bank froze the account

was this a hack or something else?  

Not sure there's necessarily a single word equivalent, that would accurately convey unauthorised fraudulent activity on the account, without the connotations of direct access to underlying systems/network (which is highly unlikely to be the case here), so probably best just to label it as fraud rather than a 'hack' as such.

Have you seen a log of the transactions, and in particular exactly how they're described?

MeteredOut

R200 said:

If hack is not the right word then what is? It’s obviously fraud there is no doubt but how was the fraud committed is what the bank can’t tell us.

several transactions sent funds abroad first of all in small amounts getting larger until the bank froze the account

was this a hack or something else?  

It doesn't really matter what it's called, but it is unlikely that someone got into your dad's account and being able to do transfers without him (unwittingly) doing something allow fraudsters to do that. Have you spoken to him about that?

wmb194

R200 said:

If hack is not the right word then what is? It’s obviously fraud there is no doubt but how was the fraud committed is what the bank can’t tell us.

several transactions sent funds abroad first of all in small amounts getting larger until the bank froze the account

was this a hack or something else?  

What were the transaction types? E.g., debit card.

R200

Some transactions say a name in Chinese some say a number.

these were payments to accounts abroad 


why we are saying it’s the banks fault is because eventually they froze the account for suspicious activity but why did it take them so long

Zanderman

R200 said:

Some transactions say a name in Chinese some say a number.

these were payments to accounts abroad 


why we are saying it’s the banks fault is because eventually they froze the account for suspicious activity but why did it take them so long

But what were the transaction types? Debit card? Bank Transfer? Where they went to - name and country - is not really relevant, it's how they were set up that would give clues to what happened. 

And it's still unclear, from your posts, what the bank has actually said happened - just saying they say it happens all the time doesn't really say anything. But if the bank is not refunding then it's likely the bank is saying it's your dad's fault - that he somehow gave away his login or other details. Have they said that?

If that's the case you should be pleased the bank did eventually step in and halt the payments. And should be looking into what circumstances allowed the fraud to happen, as it may be something your dad did unwittingly..

MeteredOut

R200 said:

why we are saying it’s the banks fault is because eventually they froze the account for suspicious activity but why did it take them so long

The fact the bank identified an ongoing issue and stopped it does not in any way make them at fault. A pattern of fraud (which is what bank profiling systems look for) can sometimes only be identified after-the-fact.

You've been asked multiple times but have not yet answered

- What are the transaction types of these payments out of the account
- Have you spoken to your dad about whether he has had any comms with people purporting to be his bank, the police, Amazon, HMRC, Microsoft, or anyone else supposedly helping him out of the blue

People are trying to help, and there is a chance your dad could still be vulnerable to further ongoing fraud in other areas of his life if he as provided fraudsters with information, eg, a common tactic is to get someone to install software onto their computer/phone which allows fraudsters to remotely view/control that device.

eskbanker

R200 said:

why we are saying it’s the banks fault is because eventually they froze the account for suspicious activity but why did it take them so long

You'd originally said:

R200 said:

Looks like their login details are compromised and there is £1700 gone in a few transactions.

They're damned if they do and damned if they don't - for everyone that's indignant that transactions weren't stopped, there'll be plenty who are outraged that they were.  The relevant algorithms are never going to be an exact science, and as above, the fact that they did put a stop to it doesn't imply that not doing so earlier was their fault....

What did you mean by their login details being compromised?

R200

MeteredOut said:

R200 said:

If hack is not the right word then what is? It’s obviously fraud there is no doubt but how was the fraud committed is what the bank can’t tell us.

several transactions sent funds abroad first of all in small amounts getting larger until the bank froze the account

was this a hack or something else?  

It doesn't really matter what it's called, but it is unlikely that someone got into your dad's account and being able to do transfers without him (unwittingly) doing something allow fraudsters to do that. Have you spoken to him about that?

Yes everyone says it’s unlikely but it has happened nonetheless.

Has he done something wrong? Maybe, he is 82. He doesn’t know how to use a smartphone or computer. He has no email.

How could he have done something wrong?