Bank warning after computer scam

[Wayne]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/7 ... puter-scam

TSB Bank is warning internet banking customers to be careful of the computer they use to log into their account after a customer had his bank account emptied.

"We put in all sorts of buckles and braces at our end but the consumer still needs to be wary," technical services manager Marie Collins said.

"We advise against, when on holiday, using internet cafes and things like that.

"Know the machine that you are logging in on, that you are accessing your banking on," she said.

Robert Mitchell instantly knew he had been scammed after finding his bank account had been cleaned out yesterday.

The deputy editor of the Taranaki Daily News used his work computer to access his TSB Bank internet banking account to find more than $1200 missing.

"I thought `Oh God,' basically," Mr Mitchell said.

"I really thought that we had been scammed.

"I instantly knew that something was wrong."

Aware his mortgage payment and other bills were due he quickly headed to a TSB Bank branch to find out what had happened. Mr Mitchell said staff told him a hacker had accessed his account and siphoned off the cash by setting up a one-off payment.

TSB Bank had tracked the hacker's IP (internet protocol) address to Ireland and would be reimbursing Mr Mitchell.

He said he had not replied to any suspicious emails recently and was very cautious about giving out personal information over the internet.

"I've never answered suspect emails or given details that I shouldn't have."

He believes the hacker had gained access to his online account through his personal or work computer. "We are probably a little lax on our security on the computer at home, but that's going to change."

Mr Mitchell said the incident had made him think twice about doing his banking over the internet but he would probably continue to use the service.

"I've got to admit it has scared me a little bit because you hear horror stories, about people losing everything.

"I think we will because it is such a handy device, but we'll be a lot more security conscious."

Staff at TSB had been incredibly helpful, he said.

"They've been great, they got on to it pretty quickly.

"TSB Bank issues customers warnings about how to protect themselves while using internet services, which is great," Mr Mitchell said.

Mrs Collins said the bank also encouraged customers to keep security and anti-virus software up to date.

She said there had been a spike in phishing, an attempt by hackers to get information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy site, and customers needed to be aware because the sites were almost perfect.

"We won't send you something with a link in it, we won't ask you to log into our site via an email," she said.

If a customer was in doubt they should call the bank or go to its website to log in, Mrs Collins said.