Online security is a major issue - online fraud cost UK banks £52.m in 2008.
A recent article posted on Times Online lists the top 10 cyber crimes as identified by Amir Orad, executive vice-president and chief marketing officer of Actimize - a leading cyber security firm.
The top 10 scams are:
1. Social networking sites
Hackers claim to be a close friend or relative and ask for money to be sent to an online account.
2. Prediction scams
An email will be received predicting the results of a football game, with a subsequent email showing the prediction was correct. Further emails will be sent showing more correct predictions and offering the receiver the opportunity to buy the results of future games - statistically a proportion of recipients would have received emails with the correct results each time - making the scam look convincing. Money exchanges hands and you can guess the rest.
3. Economy related
Usually associated with getting the recipient out of trouble - debt relief, advance loans etc.
4. “It's me” scam
Preying on elderly people, someone will make a distressed call claiming their grandchild has been in a major car accident - and asking for funds to be transferred to cover the costs. This scam is now hitting the West - having exhausted avenues in Asia.
5. Too tempting an offer
For example, the fraudster overpays on a product or service and asks for a transfer back to cover the difference. By the time the unwitting customer has paid back the excess, the original cheque has bounced.
6. Unauthorised billing
A company or service continues to charge an account without the account holder's consent.
7. Man in the phone
A security breach has occurred on an account - the fraudster makes a conference call to the real bank, listening in on the conversation divulging personal and financial details.
8. Trojan emails
Emails containing links with Trojans enables cyber criminals to record keyboard strokes and therefore passwords and other secure information.
9. Fake go-betweens
Now a common scam on online auction sites. Buyers send money to a legitimate company (or so they think), holding the money until the product is delivered and the funds are never released to the seller.
10. Phishing
Still widely at large, the fraudster poses as a legitimate bank or building society, emailing to say there has been a breach of security - the email includes a link to a bogus website, and the consumer inadvertently releases financial information.
Which UK banks are the most secure?
Online banking is not without its risks and security measures would appear to differ from one bank to another. A recent Which? Computing report has criticised some banks for their level of visible online security measures, with the Halifax and Abbey cited as having the poorest standards - whilst the banks argue that it's their 'behind the scenes' security which keeps consumers safe.
Barclays and Lloyds TSB were named as having the strongest security controls in place - by using drop down menus to record password information. This method of collecting sensitive data makes it more difficult for hackers to extract information. Even more worrying is that some banks - Abbey, Alliance and Leicester, HSBC and the Halifax don't automatically logout a user if they move to a different site, potentially enabling someone else to take over the session.
Barclays' PINsentry device issued to customers to allow random password generation was praised for being one of the most secure methods.
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