Internet banking scam

Hi


We have had our iMac desktop for a few months now and when we purchased it, we were told that no virus software was needed as Macs dont get viruses. This was one of the reasons we decided on the Mac.


Well last week, my internet banking was compromised and information was obtained that was used to scam funds from my bank account.


The bank (NAB) has told me that I should have my system scanned for viruses etc before i can reactivate my internet banking.


Can someone please advise as to what I should do next?

iMac

Posted on Dec 15, 2013 4:18 PM

Reply
8 replies

Dec 15, 2013 4:45 PM in response to Heaven and Earth

If you are using OSX and not Microsoft then in fact there should not have been a worry. Normally Windows are the systems that are attacked most frequently. All Mail, all e-mail and all communications to and from banks and all of there software is eyncrypted and if you get an e-mail requesting ANY of your INFORMATION is PLISHING and is used by third world counntries to fool you into giving your USERNAME and PASSWORD so they can get into your account to empty it NEVER EVER EVER respond to these DELETE THEM. If it is to late them go to your bank and inform them of the issue and change your username and password at the bank.

Dec 15, 2013 5:02 PM in response to Donald Morgan

Thank you Donald, but we are using OSX and it has happened. The scammer did not email he called and gave me information that he must have got from my account....he also knew the banking systems and proceedures for verifying authorisations etc.....very very tricky.... My account is now blocked and the bank is investigating but I am disappointed that they were able to access my account through my iMac, that i thought was safe.

Anyway, i will never talk to anyone calling from the Bank again.....I will call them from now on.....


I just wanted to know if there is anything i can do to check whether I have a virus or not?

Dec 15, 2013 5:28 PM in response to Heaven and Earth

I'm no expert but think a virus would probably not allow you to be compromised but perhaps rather cause a computer to malfunction.


However, inadvertently downloading malware from a website would undoubtedly allow data held on your computer to be comprised.


As the culprit called you and mentioned particular information I'd suspect they are somehow linked to the bank, probably via a 3rd party.


Hope the matter is successfully resolved with your bank and never click on any links in emails purporting to be from your bank or credit card company. If they say there's a message for you, visit your account separately and directly to verify.

Dec 15, 2013 5:44 PM in response to Heaven and Earth

You don't have a "virus." If your account was compromised, it was done on the bank's servers, not on your computer. That could have been because you chose a weak password, or because you used the same password on another site, or through no fault of your own. The bank will naturally want to assign blame to you rather than admit to a breach of its security.

Dec 15, 2013 6:09 PM in response to Heaven and Earth

As the others have said, this is almost certainly not due to any kind of malware on your Mac. Criminals use all kinds of tricks, and in your case, it's possible they managed to find the personal information they used to get access to your account through more mundane means. If they actually hacked your account to get it, that was done remotely.


As an illustration, I recently had a business credit card compromised. This card is one that I only use for my website hosting... haven't used it for anything else in about 6 months. Yet it still got compromised. Seems like it must be malware, yet I know it's not malware, if for no other reason, because the other two cards I use all the time on my computer did not get compromised.


When I called the bank in question to cancel the card, I was asked absolutely ludicrous security questions, like what county my residence is in and what model year the last car I purchased was. All matters of public record. Someone targeting me could easily find that information, no hacking required, and have it ready when calling my bank. I'm seriously considering switching banks as a result.


This shows how an event like this can appear to require malware when it really doesn't, and how criminals can use nothing more than freely available information to trick a customer service rep into giving them access they shouldn't have.


Now, as to a solution to your problem... to satisfy the bank, download a copy of VirusBarrier Express from the App Store. Scan your computer with that. Note that if anything is found, you should respond here with the exact names of any malware found, as well as what file(s) it was found in. Do not allow VBE to delete anything... see How to remove infected files.

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Internet banking scam

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