ShinyHunters stole information including bank and credit card numbers, as well as staff HR details
Hackers are attempting to sell confidential information including the bank and credit card numbers of millions of Santander customers to the highest bidder.
ShinyHunters posted an advert on a hacker forum for the data, which it says also includes staff HR details, with an asking price of $2m (£1.6m). It is the same organisation that claims to have hacked Ticketmaster.
The UK competition regulator has launched an inquiry into the £2.9bn takeover of Virgin Money by the rival lender Nationwide Building Society.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had opened the first stage of its merger process to look at whether the deal – one of the largest transactions in the banking sector since the 2008 financial crisis – would lead to substantial lessening of competition.
You’re not wrong to worry about getting scammed; fraud in general is on the rise (and anyone can be a victim), with losses attributed to various kinds of fraud topping $10 billion in 2023 alone. And good old-fashioned bank fraud is on the rise, too—including check fraud, which might seem surprising since paper check use has been declining since forever. Although we write fewer checks, the value of those checks has risen from an average of $673 in 1990 to $2,562 today, making them an attractive target.
But avoiding paper checks doesn’t insulate you from fraud. Paying for things online using credit cards or similar tools includes some built-in fraud protections, but there are times when using an e-check and having funds pulled directly from your bank account is preferable (when there’s a “convenience fee” for using a credit card, for example), or you might have money coming in via wire transfer. In either case, you’re suddenly faced with giving away your bank details—the routing number, account number, and wire transfer or SWIFT codes—in order to complete the transaction. And you might reasonably wonder if it’s safe to just give this information away.
The answer is: Yes, generally speaking. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful.
Banking information to keep an eye on
A quick rundown of the relevant details we’re talking about here; when I say “bank details,” I mean:
Routing number: A nine-digit code that identifies your specific bank.
Account number: The number of digits in your account number varies. It’s a unique identifier for a specific account at the bank or financial institution.
ABA number: Also called a “wire routing number,” this nine-digit code is an alternative way to transfer funds internationally.
Most of these numbers are pretty easy to find. If you have paper checks issued by your bank, the routing number is printed on the bottom left, and your account number is printed to the right of that. And you can usually find your bank’s routing number and SWIFT and ABA codes by logging on to their website, calling and asking, or justlooking them uponline.
As I said earlier, your routing and account numbers are literally printed on your checks. These numbers are used in what are known as Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions to move money between different banks and accounts. This means anyone who sees your check also sees your ACH info—and with that info they can commit some pretty easy fraud against your accounts. So when should you worry?
When it's OK to share your banking details
First, take note of the fact that you share your routing number and account numbers all the time. Every time you send a check, sign up for direct deposit, or enter your banking info to pay taxes or a utility bill (or sell tickets on StubHub) you’re sharing those numbers. They’re out there. A few things to keep in mind:
Just having your account number is meaningless. No one can do anything with just your account number. They also need your bank’s routing number.
As noted, your bank’s routing number and ABA and SWIFT codes are public info and can be looked up online, so there’s no reason to guard those with your life.
So, when should you feel safe sharing your bank routing and account numbers? A few guidelines:
If you would be comfortable writing a check, it’s generally OK to share your bank details.
If you know why you’re being asked for this information—you’re setting up an account, or direct deposit, or paying a bill using ACH to avoid a fee, for example—it’s generally OK.
If there’s a legitimate, compelling reason the organization needs this info (e.g., direct deposit) or you have a compelling reason to offer it up (e.g., avoiding a fee if you pay via credit card or PayPal).
Keep in mind that when you give someone authorization to use ACH to access your bank accounts, you can always revoke that authorization, and you generally have 60 days to report fraud involving your bank account as an individual.
When you should worry
Of course, scammers can wreak serious havoc on your financial life if they get both your routing and account numbers, so you definitely do need to think twice before supplying them. Here’s when to worry:
Insecure communications. Never give your bank details to anyone who requests them via email or text.
Supplied links. If you’re sent a link to enter your bank details, be suspicious. Always go directly to the website of any business or organization to enter routing and account info.
Pressure. If you prefer to use another form of payment—a credit card, for example—but you’re pressured to give out your bank details, be suspicious.
Bottom line: the key is your account number. Scammers can’t do anything without that, and they can find out everything else on their own, so if you don’t give out your account number there isn’t much they can do to you. On the other hand, if you need to get paid via wire transfer or need to pay a bill using your bank account, it’s generally safe to provide your bank details as long as you expected the request. Just be wary if it’s unexpected, or if you don’t understand why it’s necessary to provide that information.
The FCA is considering opening a compensation scheme for customers after an influx of complaints
When Gary Hill took out a £12,500 loan to pay for a new family vehicle in late 2014, he had no idea that the north London dealership he had travelled to from his home in Bedfordshire could have sway over his monthly payments.
But the 45-year-old was in a bind, having started a new job that no longer gave him access to a company car. Hill agreed to pay £335 a month over more than five years to take home a Nissan Qashqai, piling costs on to a household budget already supporting three children and the up-keep of his family home.
Although fraudsters gave one of its account numbers, it was totally uninterested as I was not its customer
I am the treasurer of a small charity, and recently received an email that appeared to come from the chair asking me to send a £780 payment to a supplier.
I immediately realised that it was a scam – it wasn’t written in his style, and, when I looked closely, it hadn’t come from his email address. I replied asking what it was for, and then kept the dialogue going.
First-quarter earnings show £580m pool, reflecting increase in share price as bonus cap scrapped in UK
London bankers at Goldman Sachs have seen their pay pot jump by more than 20% so far this year, as the bank’s surging share price added to the prospect of bumper payouts after bonus caps were lifted in the UK.
Filings covering Goldman Sachs International’s (GSI) first-quarter earnings show that it built up a $735m (£580m) pay pool in the three months to March, averaging out at about $218,000 (£170,000) each for its 3,359 staff, the bulk of whom are based in London.
UK regulators fine bank £61.6m over 2022 trader blunder that prompted flash crash in European stocks
Citigroup has been fined £61.6m by financial regulators after its internal systems failed to prevent a fat-fingered banker causing a flash crash by erroneously placing more than £1bn of orders.
The trader had intended to sell equities to the value of $58m (£46m) on 2 May 2022. However, the banker made an inputting error while entering the transaction into Citigroup’s order management system, so a giant equities basket of $444bn was created – and $1.4bn was then sold into the market.
While the big beasts of Wall Street rail against WFH, Mike Regnier of Santander UK says he wouldn’t have taken the job if he had had to commute all week
At a time when banking bosses from Wall Street to Canary Wharf have been cracking down on working from home, Santander UK’s chief executive remains an outlier.
While Goldman Sachs’s David Solomon has described home working as an “aberration”, and JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon calls himself a “skeptic” of the trend that took off during the pandemic, Mike Regnier made home working a condition of taking the job in 2022. He says he would have turned down the Spanish-owned lender had it refused to let him work from his family home in Harrogate, Yorkshire, where he has lived since the early 2000s.
Bim Afolami’s comments distance British government from protectionist moves by US
The UK cannot afford to give the “cold shoulder” to China, the City minister said on Monday, in comments that will distance the British government from the Biden administration’s protectionist crackdown.
Addressing financial services bosses at the City Week conference in London’s Guildhall, Bim Afolami said it was “crucial” to engage with strategic competitors such as Beijing, and that the UK risked losing control of its economic future if it failed to find common ground.
Better deals are on offer in the battle to tempt new current account customers. But, be warned, there are a few strings attached
The battle to attract current account customers is hotting up, with two banks offering £175 “free money”, and a third tempting people with a 10% interest rate.
The payments from Santander and First Direct, and the inflation-busting interest rate offered by Virgin Money, are the latest carrots being dangled in front of potential customers in an attempt to persuade them to switch current accounts.
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