Question about public networks

ohioboy said:
Boggles the mind. Talking about "Intercepting". Intercepting/collecting Photons that have travelled Billions of years/light years.
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Mind boggling an understatement for sure.
The idea that the universe can be seen from 46 billion light years away does my head in.
It suddenly makes earth seem so insignificant.
šŸ¤”I guess we took the topic off track a tad. Lol
 
David777 said:
You might look at the below. Because the war against malware hacking is continually evolving, it is difficult to state with certainty the current state of security. However, cybercrooks gaining some advantage in this more web mature Internet are unlikely to be doing so against small time consumers and rather are doing so against financial services and governments. That is why I that has little interest in keeping current with all the telecom security technical mumbo jumbo, don't tend to use unknown public wifi for any financial transactions beyond credit card use for say reserving lodging and usual business services. If cybercrooks began doing so on say a public wifi at a retail store or supermarket, it would be game over for them quickly.

I had $20k stolen from a BofA checking account because some hackers in a state I never visit or have financial transactions with had my check routing numbers likely from dark web sources then used interbank transfer processes to directly access my account. Normally I never have more than about $15k in my checking account but at the time had received a large check I didn't quickly move to my more secure savings account. BofA immediately replaced those funds and gave me new accounts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-in-the-middle_attack
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The information these hackers used was likely the information on any personal check, correct? Routing number and account numbers.

When I've connected bank accounts (savings at one bank to checking at another, for instance), to do the initial transfer they always sent a small amount of money (under a dollar) to the receiving account. To verify the account was truly mine and that it was indeed an account I wanted to receive money, I had to log in and tell them the amount of money that appeared in the receiving account.

Not sure if I'm explaining well, so let's say I had money in a B of A account and I wanted to transfer some to a Citibank account. I'd go online and link the Citibank account to my B of A account. A few days later B of A would transfer $.57 to my Citibank account. I'd then need to log into my B of A account and confirm that amount back to them. Only then would they permit me to transfer money to that Citibank account. Once validated, they'd rescind the $.57 transfer.

All that said, thank you for your expertise on this matter. I will remain vigilant about not using public networks to log into websites where I could potentially have financial or personal exposure. If it's necessary for me to log in while away from home, I'll continue my practice of setting up a private network hotspot with my cell phone and tether it to my laptop via usb cable.
 

PeppermintPatty said:
Peopleā€™s computer knowledge never ceases to amaze me. Itā€™s impressive. I wish I knew more about computers.
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David777 said:
You might look at the below. Because the war against malware hacking is continually evolving, it is difficult to state with certainty the current state of security. However, cybercrooks gaining some advantage in this more web mature Internet are unlikely to be doing so against small time consumers and rather are doing so against financial services and governments. That is why I that has little interest in keeping current with all the telecom security technical mumbo jumbo, don't tend to use unknown public wifi for any financial transactions beyond credit card use for say reserving lodging and usual business services. If cybercrooks began doing so on say a public wifi at a retail store or supermarket, it would be game over for them quickly.

I had $20k stolen from a BofA checking account because some hackers in a state I never visit or have financial transactions with had my check routing numbers likely from dark web sources then used interbank transfer processes to directly access my account. Normally I never have more than about $15k in my checking account but at the time had received a large check I didn't quickly move to my more secure savings account. BofA immediately replaced those funds and gave me new accounts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-in-the-middle_attack
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IMHO that story sounds rather preposterous. In the first place ACH transfers can only occur through banks that are located in the U.S. A fraudster would need to either own in his/her own right and name or have legitimate access to a bank account owned by another in order to receive funds via an ACH transfer. Just try opening a bona fide U.S. bank account without providing valid I.D, valid SSN, valid credit info and valid residence info! In the second place the fraudster would know that an ACH transaction is reversible. If a 'problem' occurs Either the sending or the receiving bank or both can simply void the transaction. The fraudster, whoever he she is, could not possibly remain anonymous through a fraudulent ACH transaction. He/she might just as well book a UBER ride down to the local jail or courthouse and turn him/herself in! Banks are not stupid and neither is the IRS. Banks have strong security measures in place to prevent what you describe in your post. Lastly, I can post my bank account number and routing number on the whole damn Internet and nothing is going to happen to me! NADA. That very same information is already available on any checks that I write or have ever written previously, which I no longer do anymore thanks to e-banking thus eliminating the need for writing paper checks.
 
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Odd that you think so as contrary information is on the web just a few search terms away. I'm not one to ask about advice on financial matters including bank issues. Generally personally, rarely money oriented or concerned and rather negative about our economic driven world. But as noted a few years ago when my BofA account was involved in an ACH bank fraud, I did research what that was about. Notice ACH wire fraud ramped up about a dozen years ago and the FBI issued public warnings.

https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/bl...ach-wire-transfer-fraud-p-1043?highlight=true
snippet:

According to the National Automated Clearing House Association, the number of ACH payments climbed from about 4 billion in 1996 to 18.2 billion in 2008, and the dollar value of those payments nearly tripled, to $30 trillion, in the same period. In fact, the FBI has seen a 38 percent increase in wire transfer fraud in 2011 alone.

As you noted banks are heavily involved stopping such because although such occurs far less than usual small fish consumer identity theft hacking schemes, because businesses are more often involved, losses are significant.
I only have a few bills each month and a few are via paper checks. Also have some automatic ACH payments as well as government direct deposits to BofA. After the initial fraud, there was a list of dark web types that continued to attempt extracting funds from the same by then closed account for weeks that BofA was very aware of. So immediately understood I had nothing to do with why such occurred. As someone with BofA accounts for decades, the bank has always emailed me when any suspicious activity occurs and did so in that case which closed whatever hole quickly.

In a few cases information for dark web cretins is obtained by bank employees so banks tend to be very careful with employee hiring. In others, it may be due to employees in involved businesses selling information to dark web types. It may also involve corporate financial employees involved with direct deposit of payroll checks that sell information. So yeah, no way for we peons to fully protect ourselves at that level. Public Internet web financial security advice for consumers prefers to not mention these types of fraud because such will scare many consumers, especially those they prefer to embrace all manner of new digital banking and financial apps.

A whole lot to read below on an actual banking audience industry site. I won't as it would put me to sleep.

https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/search.php?keywords=ach#p-1

https://complyadvantage.com/insights/what-is-ach-fraud/
snippet:

How Common is ACH fraud?
Although not the most widespread fraud method, ACH scams are increasing. In 2021, the Association For Finance Professionals found that the percentage of survey respondents reporting fraudulent activity via ACH debits increased from 34 percent in 2020 to 37 percent in 2021.
 
A somewhat related bit of information I thought I'd add to this thread;

is that I've been told by a knowledgeable source,
that all e-mails, are not-encrypted,
and therefore, another reason to not share any passwords, or personal numbers that might make us vulnerable,
in any e-mails, even if sending to most trusted people of our inner circle.
 
Even when I go to our timeshare and can use their free WiFi, I do not. I have all kinds of protection..using Incognito browsers and a VPN but I still don't. Luckily, MetroPCS has a great hotspot that is secure and I use that instead.
This is from Safewise.com
"Public Wi-Fi networks are inherently less secure than personal, private ones, as you don't know who set it up or who else is connecting to it. Any device could be at risk, including laptops, smartphones, and tablets.2 However, encryption has made web surfing safer but not risk-free. Security experts have long advised people to avoid using public Wi-Fi networks because of the risk of being hacked. Despite these warnings, free Wi-Fi is becoming more widespread and popular, with consumers browsing the web courtesy of local governments, cable companies, neighborhood coffee shops, and others that offer an on-the-house hot spot.1 Using a password manager, keeping your device's security updates current, and using two-factor authentication on all your accounts is a good way to thwart any hackers who might get your password."
This article offers tips on how to stay safe when using public WiFi:
https://www.wired.com/story/public-wifi-safety-tips/
 

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