{"id":7368,"date":"2023-05-04T15:54:55","date_gmt":"2023-05-04T15:54:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newmoneyreview.com\/?p=7368"},"modified":"2023-07-31T12:04:01","modified_gmt":"2023-07-31T12:04:01","slug":"a-phone-grabber-could-drain-your-bank-account-in-minutes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newmoneyreview.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/04\/a-phone-grabber-could-drain-your-bank-account-in-minutes\/","title":{"rendered":"A phone grabber could drain your bank account in minutes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some frauds and scams aimed at emptying your bank account are ringing alarm bells. But what about the ones that aren\u2019t?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Authorised push payment fraud (APPF)<\/span><\/a> – where the victim is tricked by fraudsters into s<\/span>ending money to them (usually online) while the fraudster poses as a genuine payee – costs the best part of \u00a31bn a year, and that\u2019s in the UK alone. <\/span>Only around half of the victims get their money back<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But what about an arguably more alarming fraud? It\u2019s where a criminal gets hold of your phone and then manages to steal your funds. That kind of theft could happen to any one of us – in a bar, club, crowded rail carriage or even in the street.<\/span><\/p>\n

Surely our phones\u2019 security features and those built into our banking apps would protect us?<\/span><\/p>\n

Blamed for being a theft victim<\/b><\/h2>\n

Apparently not. In January, <\/span>I read about a man <\/span><\/a>who said he had been hit by just such a theft. And his bank didn\u2019t reimburse him. It blamed him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jacopo de Simone\u2019s mobile phone was stolen from his pocket in London in May 2022. His device had been locked and password-protected. But still, said de Simone, the thieves had managed to steal \u00a322,500 \u2013 all the money in his current and savings accounts.<\/span><\/p>\n

His bank didn\u2019t reimburse him. It blamed him<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

His bank said this kind of theft was impossible unless he had shared his PIN with someone in advance. It accused de Simone of \u2018gross negligence\u2019, he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

De Simone countered<\/span>: \u201cI don’t access my phone using a PIN code – I use facial recognition. My Barclays PIN is different to my phone PIN and they’d need to have both of them.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This story piqued my attention. But none of the details added up. So I decided to investigate. <\/span><\/p>\n

Anatomy of the attack<\/b><\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s review the scam in steps.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The BBC, which reported de Simone\u2019s case, asked cybersecurity expert <\/span>Dr Jessica Barker<\/span><\/a> to break down the anatomy of the attack and to challenge the victim\u2019s statement. She said one phone scam scenario might involve these steps:<\/span><\/p>\n