password. That's it. Then they launder the money to another bank
account (usually a legit account owned by another innocent victim who
thinks they're an employee for a money transfer company) then it's
transferred overseas and gone.
So, if you don't want to wake up one day and see thousands missing
from your bank account - take heed of these words:
Change your Internet password regularly.
All the time.
Everyone tells you to do it, and you still don't! Why!
So go on - do it now.
And keep doing it.
Regularly - and make sure they're not ones you could easily guess.
And don't store it or write it down anywhere at all - especially not
on your computer anywhere!
If you have trouble remembering numbers like I do, remember this rhyme
(which I've used since I was a kid) and learn to picture things in
your head:
ONE is a BUN
TWO is a SHOE
THREE is a TREE
FOUR is a DOOR
FIVE is a HIVE
SIX is STICKS/BRICKS
SEVEN is HEAVEN
EIGHT is a GATE/PLATE
NINE is a SPINE/LINE
TEN is a HEN
For some people, it's just easier to picture some bricks sitting in a
shoe, about to kick a beehive at the gates of heaven than - to
remember a series of numbers.
Watch out for Spyware. Don't let your anti-virus software go out of
date. Even just by one measly week like we did. Make sure you've
checked the settings so that it runs scans very regularly, plus cleans
or quarantines suspect items. For extra safety, run another free virus
scan program every so often as a double safety check - like Panda
Active Scan.
We don't download a lot of things, we don't click on things we don't
know, and we don't even use our home compute that much. So we can't
think of how our computer was compromised - maybe it was through
Limewire where you're not sure where files come from - who knows. But
it happened. Something happened, we still don't know what.
The good news is we're most probably getting it back - not sure when though.
And the great news is that they're people working in banks who are
amazingly helpful people who will go out of their way to fix your
difficult problems. We've only met two of them ever, but they do
exist!
Some of you - a lot of you - are better techies that me. So please add
your other tips and experiences to the comments section...
7 comments:
Well, that's a relief!
Bunch of savages in this town. :o(
*hugs* to you.
Everything you wrote is pretty much spot-on, but just be aware that you can't even necessarily take for granted things you get from a trusted source. They may be passing on an infected file inadvertently. In fact, that's a big part of the way virus/worm/trojan horse propagation works, these days, to get people to pass on that powerpoint slide show of cute babies to every one of their friends.
Any executable file could potentially be a danger, as are MS Office files that can contain executable macros. Alot of 'free' programs are not viruses, per se, but can function as spyware, sending data back to a host computer somewhere, compromising your security. Never run spyware. Read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyware
If you download anything that might be a danger, always run a program to check for such things, preferably a couple of three.
You mentioned the freeware Panda, which is pretty good:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panda_Software
and I also recommend using the free version of AVG:
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVG_Anti-Virus#AVG_Anti-Virus_Free_Edition
Don't forget the professional-level grade programs are even better. Consider investing in one or two of them.
A note: just be aware that downloading audio (mp3, AAC, wma) files are almost *never* going to be a source of infection, nor are most video (mp4, avi, wmv) files. They don't - for the most part - contain executable code. The danger *can* be that sometimes people will make a 'free' mp3 available on some of the file-sharing networks as part of a zipped bundle but the file isn't really an mp3. You unzip, try to run it and the file won't play, but that's because it was never meant to, and contains malicious code. I haven't seen that, myself, but I know it's possible. But if you download a 'raw' mp3 from a band's website, or receive one from a friend that was ripped from their own collection it simply isn't going to be a source of infection.
As an aside, it sounds most likely to me that you were attacked by a Trojan Horse of some kind:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_horse_%28computing%29
Anyway, it's a horrible thing to go thru, and I do hope you guys are able to get your money refunded, and I hope that the measures you put in place will keep this from happening again.
Best wishes.
I'm glad to hear it looks like it will work out. For now, MACs are safer, but as more and more people get them, hackers are going to start writing viruses that attack them too, so I guess I better change my passwords.
I think I might uninstall Limewire anyway. I can't afford to loose money even temporarily, lol. =o)
But whew - glad your bank is going to take care of things!
One thing to always be aware of too: Support personnel will never ask for passwords.
Social "phishing" is an extraemely common practice as well. Poeple will call up claiming to be tech support and will use your own publicly available personal information to seem like like they're valid. Eventually they'll ask for a password or possibly other personal information they can use to steal your stuff.
So glad you're going to get the money back! I just wonder how they got the savings account number to begin with...do you have a clue?
Wow Jez, how scary! I'm one of those stupid people who have the same password for just about everything because of the old "It would never happen to me" mantra, but I'm gonna do what you suggested.
I hope you get your money back soon.
Any word on the money yet? I'm keeping you in my thoughts because this whole thing really does suck. =o(
Post a Comment