1.You see in your account (debit or credit) an amount of money spent that you can’t explain
If you see an in your bank account listing an amount which you know you didn’t spend nor authorized, no matter how small it is (cents even),
make sure you contact the bank and report the fraud. Don’t think that the amount is so small that it is not worth the trouble to report it.
You have to think big: if the cyber criminals are taking cents from a lot of users, they will end up with a lot of stolen money.
You can read here for more details how to react on such an event (Photo: about.com/© Pawel Gaul / E+ / Getty).
How did you end up in this situation?
There are many ways for such a thing can happen exactly to you:
- It can be that a shop/webshop/retailer was hacked and the criminals have stolen financial details, yours included
There is nothing you should have done in this case. Just contact the bank and clear the situation.
- You were victim of a phishing scam
Make sure to never click on links arrived in emails that look strange. There is a lot written in this site and on the Internet about how to recognize phishing scams and how to not fall for it.
- You have some banking trojan on your computer
Make sure you install an antivirus software on your computers and run periodic automatic or manual scans. In case of doubt, use also from time to time a second opinion scanner.
- You are using a fake app on your device that impersonates some bank or financial services provider
There are a lot of bad apps out there and they make victims until the provider of the store discovers them. I recommend to make a very thorough investigation before you give your financial details to any app. Use only trusted publishers.
Did this ever happen to you?
Use this form to let me know and tell me your story.
