Identity theft

[Paa Langfart]

Some fugwad broke into my online savings account today and stole $1000.  Luckily the institution where  I have my savings account and retirement plan,  notified me via e mail that my password, pin, and e mail address had been changed.  ( all unknown to me until I got the e mail ).  The institution is going to investigate and eventually I will be reimbursed the $1000.  I was very lucky in that department.  My first thought was that my and my wife's retirement accounts had been wiped out. It would have been a life time of hard work gone in a instant by someone living maybe half a world away. If anyone that knows any pertinent facts about cyber security I wouldn't mind hearing what I can do differently.  Sometimes I would like to trash this fuging puter and go back to the old days.  I have frozen my credit, set up a fraud alert with all 3 credit reporting beurueas and notified my local bank to be on the lookout for suspicious activity on my accounts.  Anything I am missing?

 

And how the hell could they have cracked both my password and pin?  the pin is only 4 numbers but the password is a string of symbols numbers and letters about 15 in total ?  Do you think my computer is hacked ?

[The Huddler]

 

honestly have no clue. Makes me paranoid. Luckily for me they have none to steal. They can take my debt though. 

[Paa Langfart]

11 minutes ago, 15 said:

might have gotten you through one of those gas station or ATM fake swipers. I got mine jacked once too by someone that did that at a gas station. 

Had nothing to do with my credit cards.  This money stolen right out of a savings account.

[cookinbrak]

Do you have a card associated with the savings account? I've had stuff happen with checking, but never savings.

[Chimera]

Did you fall for a phishing scam? Log in from a hotel computer somewhere? Were your security questions easy enough to be googled?

[Paa Langfart]

15 hours ago, cookinbrak said:

Do you have a card associated with the savings account? I've had stuff happen with checking, but never savings.

The only connection is it is issued by the same company - how could that get them into my savings account even if they had the complete credit card ?

[Paa Langfart]

35 minutes ago, Chimera said:

Did you fall for a phishing scam? Log in from a hotel computer somewhere? Were your security questions easy enough to be googled?

I didnt log in from a hotel puter or even use any one elses wifi- nothing like that - I guess my security questions could have been googled, but what about my 14 digit password ?  I am pretty careful about not clicking on links in any e mails from financial web sites nor any that are unsolicited.  I suppose I could have fallen for phishing.  

 

Is it possible that viewing a website  but not actually down loading anything from that site, nor typing in information,  would result in my puter being hacked and passwords stolen ?

[pstall]

8 hours ago, Paa Langfart said:

The only connection is it is issued by the same company - how could that get them into my savings account even if they had the complete credit card ?

Inside job. 

[Chimera]

On ‎2017‎/‎05‎/‎12 at 2:48 PM, Paa Langfart said:

I didnt log in from a hotel puter or even use any one elses wifi- nothing like that - I guess my security questions could have been googled, but what about my 14 digit password ?  I am pretty careful about not clicking on links in any e mails from financial web sites nor any that are unsolicited.  I suppose I could have fallen for phishing.  

 

Is it possible that viewing a website  but not actually down loading anything from that site, nor typing in information,  would result in my puter being hacked and passwords stolen ?

I suppose anything is possible.

I know if, for example, you accidentally type yuotube instead of youtube, you get send to some marketing site where they ask for information. My own dyslexic fingers showed me that a few years back. Is it possible you did something similar? Do you type your passwords in geek? L!k3_Th1$ ?