Public Wi-Fi = 'Russian Roulette' ! | Your stories | Discussion forum

never use public wifi ever, as simple as that.

also the story of the victim does not seem to hold up if u ask me.

I agree there has to be a bit more to that story.

Further, why did this woman not have a number of alerts set up on her bank account, e.g. any withdrawal, Bill Pay, e-transfer over some nominal value...alerting her of any account transactions?

For all of my credit cards and bank accounts, I have both email and SMS alerts set up for any transaction over a nominal $X.

I was in a hotel for a seminar awhile back. I was waiting in the reception area until the seminar began and connected to their wi-fi on my laptop.
After a few minutes a message popped up saying 'a program is trying to turn off your anti- virus.'

I immediately disconnected from their wi-fi and ran the virus scan. Fortunately nothing ever came of it.

The article said the bank's investigative work showed the 2FA text was sent to her phone number on record in her account and the passcode was successfully entered to complete the login process. That phone number cannot be changed without first accessing the account and changing the phone number which triggers a passcode alert to the phone number on record first.

It is also a reason for alerts to be sent by email as well as SMS text in event one is out of country and has their phone switched off to avoid roaming charges.

Best guess I have is she was not in control of her phone at all times and someone accessed it unknown to her. She maybe did not have the appropriate Lock Screen credentials in place, e.g. lock after X seconds of inactivity and/or someone guessed her PIN or biometrics or.... I've seen a number of people set extraordinary times for screens to lock, especially if they are allowing a child to use the phone to watch a vid or play a game, or to keep a recipe on the screen in the kitchen.

There are enough checks and balances, if employed, to prevent compromised access.

Ok. I’m an Apple guy. I would suggest to have current devices with up to date operating systems and up to date security.

My iPad reports this regularly.

Would also suggest that when you name your device to NOT use a name. I used to have an APP that listed all the devices names that were logged into “free wifi”. Just imagine a guy in a bar … says hey Sally your car is on fire or some other gimmick.

Banks are just pushing their luck, hoping you won’t pursue. They have forced us to use the internet and in some cases their APPS. So they have to assume some blame and compensation.

I never use APPS if there is another way. I recently considered a smart watch and upon reviewing the APPS and what goes to China or? .. I don’t consider APPS to be safe. But we all use them. I don’t have a banking app.

I have no line of credit. BMO took mine away with no forewarning. I am a good risk too. I only bank at home on my internet and if I must bank out of the house, which is extremely rare, I use my data. And never open URLS in email or text. And like Dean, I changed all my Oaken passwords when I received the login notice at 4am three days later.

Look at the TD APP on TV with money easily moving back and forth. It’s kind of irresponsible, isn’t it? Do an Interac with an incorrect email. And your phone has Apple Pay. All these conveniences have to be chosen wisely and used with caution. But I am sure they aren’t until you get burnt. And how often is that phone in an unsecured purse or location?

I am tending to think to put my funds into to quarterly and floating rate GICS vs an HISA account. (Other than my day to day bank). That should add another level of protection. And alerts, if available, are turned to the fullest extent … even if a quarter moves in or out.