MoneyMagpie Editor and financial expert Vicky Parry warns how savvy hackers and fraudsters could get hold of your money online
Even though online banking security is better than ever, criminals are keeping up.
That means it’s still a risk that you could be a victim of an online fraud or banking scam. There are some signs to help you spot whether you’re being tricked, though. Keep reading to learn about the red flags, and what you can do to protect yourself from being scammed with your online banking.
‘Safe account’ transfer scam
This is one of the most common scams and one that’s easy to fall for. You’ll receive a phone call from your “bank” saying there is a problem with your account, and that you need to move some money into a “safe account”. You’re actually just sending money directly to the fraudster. While you might feel you’d never fall for this, people can be very convincing. They can even spoof the phone number to make it look like your bank is the one on your Caller ID before you answer. If you ever get a call asking you to move money, hang up.
‘Accidental transfer’ scam
Another very common scam is when someone pays you money into your bank account. They’ll then claim it was accidental and request a transfer for you to refund it. But then, they claim the error from their bank – who will deduct the transfer amount again from you if they believe it is a valid claim. So, you lose the amount that you transferred them AND the original payment amount.
If you receive money and you don’t know where it has come from, alert your bank and do not spend it. However, do not send it to anyone who is claiming they accidentally transferred money to you. If it is a legitimate error, the banks will sort it between themselves.
The way to know that this is a scam is the person contacts you to ask for the refund. Only somebody with your full bank details and contact information would be able to do this. Someone who genuinely put in the wrong bank details would not know your contact information – as far as they’re concerned, they’ll have sent money to a total stranger. They wouldn’t know how to call or email you to request the cash be returned.
Account hacking
This one might seem like the hardest to do, and it can be tricky for scammers thanks to constantly improving online banking security like requiring facial or fingerprint confirmation for particular actions. However, there are still some ways that hackers can see your login information – so they don’t even need to dupe you into giving over your details.
Malware can be installed on your device if you download from untrustworthy sources. You might not even know you’ve done it – if you’ve received an email or SMS from a company asking you to click a link to protect your account, this could be the gateway they need. The link is fraudulent, but looks like the real page, so you log in and hand over your banking login details without realising.
The best way to avoid this happening is to never do online banking over public or open WiFi, and never click links in an email or SMS that you weren’t expecting to receive. Only ever download from trusted sources, and install antivirus software on your devices.
If you get a message about your account and want to check to find out it is legitimate – such as claims it is from HMRC and you need to log in to claim a tax rebate – wait until you’re on a secure network. Then, go to the main website (in this case, gov.uk then navigate your way to HMRC login). Never, ever go from the link provided in the email or text message.
If you have been scammed
If you think you’ve been the victim of an online payment or banking scam, first of all: don’t panic. Get on the phone to your bank or card provider immediately through their fraud telephone line, or speak to someone in branch. Explain why you believe you were scammed and how it happened.
Your bank may be able to get a refund of your transferred funds. Your bank account may be frozen while an investigation takes place, so be aware that you may not be able to access some or all funds in the account for a period of time. You can also report theft to the police, especially if you can identify the fraudster (such as an online retailer registered at Companies House ). Make sure you write to Action Fraud to report the scam to them, too.
Protect yourself with these quick tips
While you can’t ever guarantee you won’t be the target of a hacker or fraudster, there are some things you can do to make things harder for them.
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Set up two-factor authentication on your phone for everything. It can be a bit annoying, but you’ll get alerted if someone is trying to sign in to your email and other accounts.
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Use a different email address for your financials than everything else. If your main email is hacked, they won’t have access to your sensitive data.
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Don’t shop on websites that begin with http:// instead of https://. You need the ‘s’ in there for ‘secure’ – otherwise, the site is vulnerable to spyware or is an outright scam to take your card details.
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Never transfer money if someone you don’t know asks you to, even if they say they’re from your bank.
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Never give out your PIN or other details if someone calls you. If there might be an issue with your bank account, hang up and call the bank from the phone number you see on their website to ask if someone has recently called you. If not: it’s a scam.
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Always use different login credentials for each financial platform so if one is hacked the others cannot also be stolen.
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Never download apps from unofficial sources, always use the Google Play Store or Apple Store and check the details first.
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Don’t do any online banking over public or open WiFi as this leaves you open to hackers who can see your information.
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Change your home internet router password and login credentials instead of leaving the default one, to improve security of your home WiFi.
Finally, set up text alerts on your phone for things like low balance, new payees, payments, and transfers. This is the quickest way to be alerted to fraudulent transactions in real time, making it easy to act fast and contact your bank or credit card provider.
Some of the brands and websites we mention may be, or may have been, a partner of MoneyMagpie.com. However, we only ever mention brands we believe in and trust, so it never influences who we prioritise and link to.
