Beware of online fraudsters targeting your Christmas shopping sprees
BANKING customers have been warned to be extra vigilant in the wake of last weekend’s hacking of 20,000 Tesco Bank accounts.
As Christmas season starts, people are warmed of online fraud
Although Tesco has agreed to reimburse customers for any losses, the cyber raid will make many nervous about banking online.
Jody Baker, head of money at CompareTheMarket.com, said we are constantly being warned of the dangers of cyber attacks, but it will still come as a shock.
“Our research shows that one in 10 bank accounts fell foul of a cyber attack over the last year, with an average of £475 stolen,” she said.
People are advised to regularly check their bank statements
She warned of a spike in online fraud as Christmas approaches, with Cyber Monday on November 28 a likely target: “Check your bank statements regularly as criminals often make small but regular thefts that are harder to spot than larger purchases.”
One in 10 bank accounts fell foul of a cyber attack over the last year
Head of consumer affairs at credit agency Experian.co.uk.
James Jones said if fraudsters strike you should change the password on the affected account and your other online accounts: “Create unique passwords for each site and use upper and lower case letters as well as numbers to make your password more secure.”
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Online passwords should be different and unique to different websites
Jones also said you should shut down any online account you no longer use: “Each account we have contains valuable personally identifiable information that could be used in a fraud.”
You need to be particularly careful with your smartphone, which may contain emails and apps that can be accessed without a password.
He said: “Regularly clear the cache on your device and disable auto-fill settings.”
Public networks and open wi-fi hotspots are riskier than private networks, so be careful what you access and always log out when finished, he said.