travel - fraud query with wifi?

sporina

Hi I am heading to central america for a while. I have a question about using wifi on my iphone while away. I may need to make bank transfers while away - i plan to use my iphone and wifi where i can.
Is there a fraud risk with wifi or is it only if you use another pc or device?

coylemj

There is a fraud risk with Wi-Fi, especially on an open network with no password. If I was you I'd only do online banking with a 3G/GPRS connection. Even in Ireland or the UK I avoid doing online banking on a public Wi-Fi network where your data can be easily captured.

steve-o

If you are accessing any secure site (https) there is virtually no chance of your data being intercepted, as it is encrypted. All online banking sites and apps use https.

sporina

steve-o wrote: »

If you are accessing any secure site (https) there is virtually no chance of your data being intercepted, as it is encrypted. All online banking sites and apps use https.

but i know of cases where people have been robbed after using pc's for banking on line in central and south america!!

steve-o

sporina wrote: »

but i know of cases where people have been robbed after using pc's for banking on line in central and south america!!

Bank security is usually pretty robust, and I can assure you it had nothing to do with wifi or their location.

sporina

steve-o wrote: »

Bank security is usually pretty robust, and I can assure you it had nothing to do with wifi or their location.

one couple i am thinking off both got robed in an internet cafe they were using a desktop as far as i know

Could have been a keylogger on the PC rather than any interception of the encrypted data.

Stinicker

sporina wrote: »

but i know of cases where people have been robbed after using pc's for banking on line in central and south america!!

Keyloggers are used to steal the login details, criminals then login and wire your money to somewhere else. One should be very cautious using cyber cafes because Keyloggers could be the problem.

sporina

so basically i should stick to iphone and 3g regardless of the cost… happy to do that - may use a secure hotel network - if it is deemed safe to do so

steve-o

Stinicker wrote: »

Keyloggers are used to steal the login details, criminals then login and wire your money to somewhere else. One should be very cautious using cyber cafes because Keyloggers could be the problem.

No Irish bank would be at any real risk of this. They use various approaches to prevent it (random password characters, one-time PINs, SMS, etc) on payments or to add new beneficiaries. A thief can't simply capture your keystrokes and re-use them to make a payment to another account.

Gatica

Certainly the least safe would be using open wifi or their PC.
The next best option after 3G would be a wifi network that requires a single use password and registration. I know people don't like giving out their details but you can use a dummy email. Most interception happens when people connect to an unknown network without a password or with a simple rarely changed one, where someone in the vicinity has spoofed the network name of the cafe/restaurant...