Theft right out of your bank account

[sunny3]

Thought I'd share my experience in case others have tips for me or in case it comes in handy for someone else at some point.

I was out of town until last night due to a semi-unexpected funeral. I'd been travelling but was supposed to be gone 2.5 days but it turned into almost a full week and then i was super busy until this mid afternoon when i crashed on the couch. I was woken by my bank leaving an answering machine message something about frozen account due to suspicious activity please call 1800... So I drag myself off the couch to get my computer and find 1000$ e-transfered or something out of my account. I call the number in a panic and am told that someone was able to access all of my account info so i need to go to my bank and get a new bank account. Yeah, I asked, that means all my bill autowithdrawls and automatic deposits have to get new numbers to my account, new cheques... and just in case, yeah, a new visa too. Unfortunately, it was after 5 when i got to the bank and they were able to open a new account but my original home branch is 7hrs north and not open after 5 nor on weekends so my bank account is totally frozen and my new one doesn't have a penny in it. So far my visa is untouched so they decided not to get me a new one till i have access to my account.

How this happenned- I don't purchase much on line besides train tickets and very occasional items (like maybe twice a year other than the train tickets), and I go to online banking about once a month normally from my home computer with updated and paid for virus checker on a locked and encrypted internet connection only and not on a mobile device. I was away quicker and longer than expected, and i had just paid my visa at a bank machine but the total didn't jive with me. When i got to my parents house and the funeral was decided on, I booked a train ticket with visa and decided to go to online banking to ensure my visa charges were all mine (it was fine). My parents neighbors asked them to put a wifi device to access their internet, which they keep unlocked and the last time i was there, they were having all kinds of computer and internet issues and i told them to get it locked, which they didn't. They have updated antivirus but when i was there it found malaware a day after i used it to access my bank account. This is thought to be how my bank account was broken into but have no idea if it's someone living near them that did it or some other lurker. I don't understand much about this sort of stuff but I was aware an unsecured wifi is a bad idea- best to just give people the password.

I learned that i shouldn't trust my parent's computer, which i hadn't in the past, and also still be cautious with mine. The bank told me to do a full system virus scan and also download an extra security program available on their website. Above what you think you have to do, my bank also advised me to call the equifax or something to do with credit so that my account is ged in the even some person who knows all my info through my bank account tried to get a loan or something through identity theft. This place also gave me another number to call for the same purposes. Of course my bank's fraud department is investigating.

All I can say is I really hope that no one else drops dead or throws me a curve ball for at least a week. I'm totally exhausted. I'm thankful though that my bank is really helping me out including that i have to put together info on who takes out money and how to get a hold of them but they'll contact them to help me with making those changes with account info and such and ensuring I get my money back.

What do other people do to stay safe with online banking and transactions? My branch manager said even her hubby has been scammed huge sums through an online purchase even though he's very knowledgable and cautious. I'm not knowledgable and I'm normally cautious within my comprehension but the one time when i took a chance, this happenned. Not fun!

[KrazE]

I only ever access my banking through my own computer which is on a secure network. Since my SO & I work in the IT industry, security is of utmost importance to us, so our home network is locked down tight.

I rarely use bank machines, and if I do happen to need a bit of cash, I will do a cash back when I purchase grocery items.

If I do make online purchases, I use a credit card that I have specifically for it - it's a capital one with a low limit, and is not linked to anything related to my banking in any way; I do not use my visa for online shopping as it's linked to my banking.

Everyone needs to take precautions when doing any banking from a computer - your home network should be locked down at all times.

[ninna]

We had this happen to us. We live in London and someone in Montreal was accessing DH's card on a Saturday night and making fake deposits (empty envelopes) and then withdrawing the cash out.

What amazed me was how quickly our bank was on top of it! My phone was ringing off the hook on Monday morning at 8am.

This type of crap happens WAY more than you might think! Ask anyone who works in a bank and they will tell you!

In our case, DH had filled up at a particular gas station on a Friday night. Someone had put one of those card readers on the ATM/debit card thing in the store. Someone else working in the gas station was in cahoots with the criminals because they aimed the store's security cameras so that the employee was watching the person type in their PIN number. Voila. That was ALL it took.

Moral of the story? ALWAYS cover your pinpad when you enter the PIN number. There's was no way to "tell" that the debit machine had been tampered with either. Anyway, our bank's computer picked up on the fact that these transactions were unusual for us. The bank called us ASAP. Our accounts got frozen and we had to get new bank cards and new PIN numbers etc. I felt so violated. Fortunately, I have a several other bank accounts at different banks so I wasn't royally screwed. But it was pretty scary to have that happen. I remember first getting the call and thinking, "OMG! My money! What if they made off with all my money and I don't get it back???"

[kris32]

lucky that your bank is nice. My bank keeps protecting people who steal people's money, i swear (td canada trust). My parents have the same bank as me and they forgot their card in the machine for like 20 seconds then went back and $500 was gone. Then there was a 'investigation' into it and they had the guy on camera (obviously because it was right in the branch) but they claimed they didn't later.

Got my account broken into as well ( might have been an accident because money was returned immediately) and they wouldn't give me any details to 'protect their identity' . Was an order from some internet website. I was paying for my haircut when i found out and my card wasn't working,how embaressing was that!

[jayne_a]

I only use my home pc for my on line banking. I also never use an atm, i don't ever use my debit card. I use my cc for everything. I also have a different cc with a low limit for on line purchases. My DH had someone try to take out a 20,000 loan in his name once. He got a call to confirm the loan b/c it was being taken out in another city, I said it wasn't true and that he was at work. They froze his account. It took almost a month to get things fixed.

[Retiree]

I haven't had my bank account cleaned out but both our son and our niece have. Our 1 credit card is not with our primary bank. We mostly use our debit card for purchases. Most of our bills are paid through automatic chequing. I do use the ATM once a week for a small regular cash withdrawl for pin money.

Each morning, I go online on my own computer and check our bank accounts and credit card to make sure that neither has been compromised. It only takes a couple of minutes to do and I figure that at least that way, if they are compromsed, I can get on it right away.

[marstec]

I only use my debit card when I can't use my Visa, ie. at Costco. I always shield the pinpad as I'm inputting my numbers (I get flack from the family because of my "paranoia". So, all other purchases get out on the Visa and paid off in full every month.

Using a credit card is a lot safer since the card companies don't hold you accountable for fraudulent usage, whereas with debit, you have to prove it wasn't you who took the money and even then you have to wait and wait to get your money back. I have a regular Visa and another low-limit one (with no-fee) that is used exclusively for internet purchases.

[Darth Penguin]

One thing to look out for is small (ie <$1) transactions being taken out and then returned as voided items. Those are clues to some-one checking your account details are active.

[Gsxrboy]

The unlocked wifi access is not the issue, nor is accessing your bank information on that computer using IE or any web browser for that matter. All banks use 128bit encryption when accessing the accounts. The issue here is that someone installed a key logger onto the computer, this key logger recorders every keyboard press and what sites you have visited with dates and times. That is how they accessed your accounts information.

[theweaves_dad]

Stinks that happened to you but glad you caught it eary enough. I am in Brantford and got a phone call today from Royal Bank security saying that I had used my debit card at a place where a skimmer was being used and I had to go immediately and change my card and PIN number. It was a recorded call so I phoned Royal Bank and they confirmed it. Too bad they would not tell me where or when it was compromised (so I don't use the card there again.) Maybe it will be in the news or something. Got a new card today and my account is fine.

BTW, my son thought his identity may have been compromised a while ago so he contacted Equifax and TransUnion and put a "fraud alert" on his credit reports. It was on there for over three years with a message to contact him before issuing credit. He was approved for about four or five cards before bankruptcy. He applied in April for a SECURED card and got a phone call because of that "fraud alert". Capital One is the only one who called!

[anicas_stash]

Scammers are everywhere. We can't be too careful these days.

I use a credit card for most purchases and never use debit. I better check with Transunion and Experian this month. I requested a credit report from Equifax a few months ago and everything was fine.