Fraud!! How can this happen ....

[Anonymous]

I am still waiting to hear from the fraud department and 02 have been most unhelpful which is leading me to believe that possibly this is an inside job!

Apparently 02 called me on the 21st December to change my address but will not tell me what prompted this phone call. They didnt call ME and apparently on the same day not only was the address changed but someone took out a new contract and ordered themselves a nice swanky phone! 

My account shows the order for the phone on that date but what I cant understand is that my email has not changed so why was the normal notification of change of contract, new phone, etc emailed to me as is the normal course.

As I sit here fuming just out of frustration I was wondering if anyone else has had this happen?

When I spoke to the fraud department they didnt seem too bothered and apparently this happens a lot and the person just wants a nice phone to sell on. Thats great, but in the meantime, whilst I wait for them to think about sorting this out I have to pay the high monthly charges that this lovely little blighter decided to choose on my behalf!

Once this has been sorted and after 11 years of being with 02 I shall be moving to another company!  We also have two other phone contracts with 02 which shall also be moved!

[Liquid]

Social engineering is a huge part of it.

However basic things like special characters and upper case will solve or hinder brute force attacks.

Two step authentication will hinder social engineering. You forgot your password? Enter the code we text to your mobile before answering security questions.

Is it more difficult than I make it sound?

[Anonymous]

@ Liquid what about the situation where a customer has lost/stolen/damaged handset and can't get the text?

[Liquid]

House phone, automated call?


I see your point steersy however it doesn't account for everyone.

I'm not the sort of person who does basic passwords, nor do I use the same password for more than one account.

Admittedly one issue I had was through CS giving me my own password haha. Didn't believe it was O2 calling then after they have me my account password I couldn't believe it was O2. We all make mistakes I guess.

[Anonymous]

Its all well saying house phone, but in my experience most people I know including myself don't use housephones due to having mobiles - it is also an inconvenience if one is not in their home when their phone is stolen, say - at their partners? or even holiday perhaps? rare I suppose, but I still suspect it happens.

More regulations are needed I agree but someone mentioned before that hacking only happens if you let it - to an extent yes, being careless online and pressing all sort of nonsense ads and email spam would be a way to do it. But I consider myself pretty computer savvy, I know what I should click and shouldn't click & still managed to have my email hacked before - sometimes it's just who has a grudge against you and who doesn't.

I like banking's methods of doing it; setting two passwords then requesting certain characters of each password before allowing access, I just simply feel a lot more safe putting my details in it than in any other account I have in any other site.

[Liquid]

That would be the better version of two step authentication I guess:)

Indeed I can see the house phone theory is flawed sorry:(

[Anonymous]

no need to say sorry, I probably would have suggested the same until I sat down and thought if there were any flaws in that method

all in all, its quite difficult for any security enhancements and no doubt people will slip through the hole or get caught no matter what they do and how effective the method is - its just a system of working out which method will leave as little lee-way as possible with people getting caught by fraudsters.

[Liquid]

IQ tests followed by lobotomies below predetermined scores?

I do rather like the banking method you mentioned using a hidden password and being asked to identify figures/letters depending on their placement.

At least that would stop the majority of unsophisticated attacks.

I would like to see the phone verification performed if say there was a change in address. It would rule out majority of fraud easily. If you've lost your phone you wouldn't need to change your address:)

[Anonymous]

Yes, I've never heard of anyone being hacked and their address changed in order to, well, steal from them. But reading this thread it happens way more than it should which suggests there should be some sort of confirmation method or some sort put in place when someone tries to change the address.

IQ tests are about as flawed as you can get aswell - its not generalised at all, its very specific to certain skills. For example, some people are better at certain things than others are, but it doesn't make those people who aren't as good to be any less intelligent as they may also be better in other areas.

Not sure if that made any sense, but oohwell  

[Liquid]

I feel bad about the IQ joke now haha.

You are completely correct:)

[Anonymous]

Its been interesting reading all the threads but what I cannot get my head around is the fact that in the past I have had to jump through hoops to change minor details on my account but someone can speak to 02 and on the same day not only just change my address but order themselves a new phone.

Im also annoyed at 02 for the limited information that they will provide me, in particular as to what prompted them to allegedly call me at 07.47am on 21st December! I thought under the freedom of information act I was entitled to know the activity on my account.

I am still receiving these phone calls and I can only assume these are random calls to check my phone is still live or something. Checking back through my phone I have been receiving them since the 20th December and in the 11 years I have had this same number I have never received a number I havent recognised.

I am really keen now to go off to another provider and will now be starting afresh, but I assume that coz this wonderful person has now set me up on a new 24 month contract I cannot cancel this until the investigations are complete. Am I right to assume that?