Phishing

Monzo Chat
#1

I read this and was quietly smug about not having been caught out by this type of thing, then I thought a little further and decided that possibly how I use monzo must also help me stay safe, I have a minimal overdraft which is damage limitation, I keep my main account close to zero at pretty much all times apart a short time on the day my wages are deposited, I move all my money to pots and then pay myself a daily allowance (sometimes 2 much, sometimes 2 little) but in doing this I like to think that my money is safe as for the money to be moved from pots would require actual app access, some random nutsack would not be able to empty my account easily, I hope, I thinkā€¦

Is my train of thought correct guys or am I equally open to being fleeced as anybody else?

Cheers,
T.

1 Like
#2

If a fake version of EE (or another company) said your direct debit did not go through would you give them your details?

If so (and I would hope not!), putting it in pots or anywhere else would not help you as you would likely move it out to pay

Works much better for avoiding card theft, cloning and the like though

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#3

I deffo wouldnā€™t be giving out my details, but Iā€™m pretty sure most people also say that, apparently these bawbags are very convincing.

:slight_smile:

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#4

I am like you, no money is in my main account balance everything in pots.

Personally, I would never login to a url provided by text, granted I would probably load it but never login.

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#5

Small bank tactics at play again. Any other bank for the amount of 200 would have just refunded it.

I personally wouldnā€™t fall victim to this kind of thing because Iā€™m very similar to @trevwmitchell keeping a low balance etc.

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#6

But surely the point here is that the person voluntarily paid the amount - their main balance was not a driver

Keeping the main balance low and/or not having an overdraft would stop other clearing your account without your involvement, but they did this consciously

#7

They didnā€™t do it consciously though. They made a payment to EE to pay their billā€¦

I think itā€™d be significantly more difficult into being fooled thatā€™s what I was personally doing but if you get a text and it looks like itā€™s from EE and itā€™s expected anyway then itā€™s difficult to say itā€™s their fault and they did it consciously.

In my opinion though the banking system should be closely linked to peopleā€™s identities and people should be trackable so they can be held accountable for these things. Privacy is all well and good until people get away with stuff like this all the time.

#8

The text comes from a UK mobile number, not 150, and the URL is clearly not EE, but people still click it and then log in with their EE account details, and then enter their bank details.

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#9

So he essentially paid someone pretending to be EE? I donā€™t see how this is phishing or hacking. This is just pure stupidity at play and I donā€™t see why the bank should be responsible.

4 Likes
#10

This isnā€™t exactly foolproof because plenty of companies use standard mobile numbers. PayPal just today sent me one from a standard number.

#11

You can spoof any sender ID you want, including ā€œ150ā€ if you wanted to.

#12

An example of the text can be seen here: https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/ee-scam-text-being-used-17203229

(Iā€™ll hold back on my thoughts of people who use such fonts on their phone though)

EE never send from random mobile numbers though, the URL is clearly not EE though the site does look like MyEE if you do click it. Yes you can fake the caller ID, but they arenā€™t even bothering to do that and people are falling for it.

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#13

Yeah it is shocking. I feel bad for Monzo having to refund that person. I wonder, if he makes other bad decisions in life does he also call the bank to try and get refunds?

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#14

Lol that font says it all really.

I personally wouldnā€™t be fooled by that and do think people need to be more vigilant because to me that blatantly is EE but for the less intelligent you can see how this happened.

#15

The bank should be responsible because, according to the article, Monzo has decided to abide by the code of conduct, without actually signing up to it.

If Monzo wishes to change this stance, they could simply contact their customers to explain that, although many other banks will reimburse their customers for this sort of scam, Monzo have decided not to. And the customers will be free to decide which bank theyā€™d rather bank with. And click bait newspaper headlines will no doubt encourage some to do just that.

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#16

Best way to protect yourself against phishing:
Donā€™t panic and have the mindset of ā€œis this person really who they say they areā€
Or when in doubt just contact the bank or the company in question directly

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#17

As Open as anybody. My experience with Monzo was as follows. Had Ā£1000 stolen from my account via a fraudulent direct debt. I challenged this, after 2 weeks Monzo finally refunded the money. Then I was told a few days later the money would be recharged to my account as the Fraudster challenged the refund. I asked to dispute this but was told the outcome was final based on the supporting evidence. The supporting evidence was a direct debt form, with 2 different sets of handwriting on, my account details and an address 150 miles away from where I live. I pointed this out but was told the decision was final.

So just think about that for a moment, if you know somebodyā€™s Name and account details (I.e anybody you have ever sent a payment too) in 2 or 3 obvious scenarioā€™s Monzo will just pay out and refuse to assist you. The Phishing guys are clearly going to too much effort here!

2 Likes
#18

If that is true this is grounds for a formal complaint to the Financial Ombusdman.

As far as I know the DD Guarantee means you can get any DD refunded without any questions asked, and itā€™s then up to the original creditor to follow up with you directly and collect that money.

PS: how did it end? I hope you withdrew all money in the account and gave a big middle finger to the bank instead of paying the 1kĀ£. The original creditor is free to take the debt to court if they feel like it but I think theyā€™d have a bit of trouble considering the inconsistencies in the DD mandate. :joy:

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#19

How would a normal person set up a direct debit and then be able to get the money for themselves?

You can download a template letter to send to Monzo here: https://www.directdebit.co.uk/DirectDebitExplained/Pages/Organisationunknown.aspx

#20

Was it a one off Ā£1000 transaction or multiple little ones, and if the Ā£1000 how come you never noticed the notification firstly for a DD being set up and then the 1-3 days before the amount coming out?

@Col12345 forgot to hit the reply button on ur post :joy:

1 Like