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[Lizzie Zoom]

For the first time, and it had to happen eventually, my bank had to contact me late this morning due to "suspicious activity" on my account involving £500 in total.

It turns out that four "purchases" were made using my PayPal details, with two being blocked, but two for computer parts going through and due to be delivered to an address in Burton-On-Trent!

I spent all afternoon on the phone to the bank, PayPal, and Action Fraud.  The fraudulent actions have been accepted by both PayPal and my bank, with refunds being issued. 

The odd thing was though, and no "expert" in any organisation I contacted, including BT, could explain why, after the attempted fraud, thousands of email's started to arrive from all over the World, with I think every language used!  Throughout the afternoon TWO emails EVERY SECOND was touching down, with the eventual grand total reaching 5,000+!!!  

I have now taken action to change my email address and delete the old one, but what an effort that was with 4 different BT customer services staff failing to provide any real help to stop the crazy number of email's. As I was changing the email addresses the BT system stated it could take "up to 60 days" for any changes could be made, and none of the BT staff could help me with that.  In the end I have sorted it all, and I have stopped the rouge email's!! 

I am so careful,and ironically have hardly used Paypal, instead using a direct debit card payment, the details of which the fraudsters used.  How I just do not know, and perhaps will never know. Passwords are changed regularly, full security measures are on my devices,  I don't click onto any emails I do not expect and am very careful to use only legitimate, well known and rated, suppliers.

A life experience indeed!

[TheBoy]

The email thing is not uncommon, and once it happens, all you can do is abandon it and get a new one.

As PP probably used same email address, it becomes a case of just guessing the password...   ...though more likely you used same email/pw combo on another site that has been compromised, and available for sale....

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

I had some ne'er do well spent over £2000 on one of my credit cards. A bill for a large TV and assorted electrical appliances landed on my mat.

Financial security is weak. An enterprising 12 year old could probably crack most of it.   

[STEMO]

Why did it have to happen ‘eventually’? Do you think that everyone will be compromised at some point in the future?
Did you have two factor authentication activated on your PayPal account?

[Lizzie Zoom]

The email thing is not uncommon, and once it happens, all you can do is abandon it and get a new one.

As PP probably used same email address, it becomes a case of just guessing the password...   ...though more likely you used same email/pw combo on another site that has been compromised, and available for sale....

Thanks for the info TB.  That has reassured me that I have now done all I can, with my bank card cancelled as soon as I knew what had happened, and now with a new email address.

[Lizzie Zoom]

Why did it have to happen ‘eventually’? Do you think that everyone will be compromised at some point in the future?
Did you have two factor authentication activated on your PayPal account?

That is the interesting fact, I do not use PP, always paying direct with my debit card. Once all this has died down and fully resolved I will certainly close my PP account.

Yes, I really believe that the cyber criminals will get most of us, or at least the companies we deal with as in my case due to poor security at corporate and national level.  After all big organisations, including the NHS, have been compromised at a national level with all their "systems security". What hope have us individuals got when even the "experts" in 3 major organisations had no answers for me?

[STEMO]

If you truly believe that most of us will be ‘hacked’ at some point, and large organisations have no way of defending themselves, then be prepared for something worse than a nuclear strike.

You are sitting at home on a winters evening, watching the telly, when the lights go out. In fact, everything goes out, street lights traffic lights, the works. To add to the sense of shock, house alarms ring out through the darkness, the only sound you can hear. You try to ring someone to see if their power is off, but neither your home phone or your mobile work, and with the heating going off, it’s starting to get a bit cold.
That could be the start of a major attack on our power grid. The first thing to hit would be a total lack of information. No radio, no phone, no street lights, no traffic lights, no ATMs to dispense money, no credit card terminals working, no tills at the supermarket, no pumps at the petrol station.

That big fella you cut up in your car last week is hanging around outside.

Have a nice day. 

[Lizzie Zoom]

If you truly believe that most of us will be ‘hacked’ at some point, and large organisations have no way of defending themselves, then be prepared for something worse than a nuclear strike.

You are sitting at home on a winters evening, watching the telly, when the lights go out. In fact, everything goes out, street lights traffic lights, the works. To add to the sense of shock, house alarms ring out through the darkness, the only sound you can hear. You try to ring someone to see if their power is off, but neither your home phone or your mobile work, and with the heating going off, it’s starting to get a bit cold.
That could be the start of a major attack on our power grid. The first thing to hit would be a total lack of information. No radio, no phone, no street lights, no traffic lights, no ATMs to dispense money, no credit card terminals working, no tills at the supermarket, no pumps at the petrol station.

That big fella you cut up in your car last week is hanging around outside.

Have a nice day. 

Yes, all true!!  And we as a society are still increasing our reliance on electric power, with few back ups of any type when it goes off.  We are living on the edge, but only a few of us seem to recognise that.

I still have an oil lamp, candles, and a number of torches, but what good that we do me or anyone else if the big strike happens.

[Gaffers]

Activating 2 factor authentication can help reduce the likelihood of this happening again.  All of my important email/paypal/linkedin/etc accounts have it enabled.  It wont completely remove the risk but it makes it quite difficult to break.  I also have text alerts for debits over a certain amount from my main bank account.

[STEMO]

Activating 2 factor authentication can help reduce the likelihood of this happening again.  All of my important email/paypal/linkedin/etc accounts have it enabled.  It wont completely remove the risk but it makes it quite difficult to break.  I also have text alerts for debits over a certain amount from my main bank account.

What happens, Matt, if I press the “I don’t have access to my mobile phone” button on PayPal?

[Gaffers]

Activating 2 factor authentication can help reduce the likelihood of this happening again.  All of my important email/paypal/linkedin/etc accounts have it enabled.  It wont completely remove the risk but it makes it quite difficult to break.  I also have text alerts for debits over a certain amount from my main bank account.

What happens, Matt, if I press the “I don’t have access to my mobile phone” button on PayPal?

You get asked a random selection of questions you have already provided the answers to when activating 2FA.  It works quite well.

[STEMO]

Activating 2 factor authentication can help reduce the likelihood of this happening again.  All of my important email/paypal/linkedin/etc accounts have it enabled.  It wont completely remove the risk but it makes it quite difficult to break.  I also have text alerts for debits over a certain amount from my main bank account.

What happens, Matt, if I press the “I don’t have access to my mobile phone” button on PayPal?

You get asked a random selection of questions you have already provided the answers to when activating 2FA.  It works quite well.

Ta 

[Rods2]

I always use a top up credit card for online purchases which automatically limits your financial exposure. Each account has 2 factor activation and an email that informs me of each login when these are available. Each account have a very long unique random characters and numbers string for my passwords. They are hand written on several A4 sheets of paper which I keep locked in my safe.

[STEMO]

I always use a top up credit card for online purchases which automatically limits your financial exposure. Each account has 2 factor activation and an email that informs me of each login when these are available. Each account have a very long unique random characters and numbers string for my passwords. They are hand written on several A4 sheets of paper which I keep locked in my safe.

I had a Monzo card for a while, not only the amount you pre-load can be spent, but you get an instant text showing your purchase, the store it was made at and the location on a map.

[Lizzie Zoom]

Activating 2 factor authentication can help reduce the likelihood of this happening again.  All of my important email/paypal/linkedin/etc accounts have it enabled.  It wont completely remove the risk but it makes it quite difficult to break.  I also have text alerts for debits over a certain amount from my main bank account.

Thanks Guffer

I do have two factor authentication on my main cards, and my bank do text me, as they did today, about anything unusual.  But, it seems whatever 'security' was with the PP account broke down.  The payments made even used a different version of my email, but that failed to be noted!