TSB has become the first major UK bank to refund to cyber crime victims who are tricked into parting with money from their bank accounts by fraudsters.
But will more banks follow suit?
Tag: <span>technology</span>
Are you still paying for your smartphone, even though your contract has ended? If so, you could be one of 4 million UK consumers who have been charged for phones they already own.
Cyber crime is a growing problem that affects us all, whether it’s a malicious bit of software designed to scrape our personal data, to a full blown attack on our bank, there have even been cyber attacks on the NHS and universities.
And while we’re always being told it’s the work of nefarious criminals and ‘rogue’ states, it seems that’s not always the case – new security analysis has found that cyber attacks on universities are just as likely to have been carried out by staff or students as criminals and hackers.
The school summer holidays are almost over, which means mornings can get back to some sort of slightly hectic normality – but there could be a new lesson on the kids’ curriculum this new term, as cyber security is to be taught in schools.
If you’ve got a split mobile phone contract – whereby you pay separately for the cost of your smartphone and the cost of your monthly mobile data, call, and text allowances – you could be overpaying to the tune of £69 a year.
If you were in business around the turn of the millennium, you’ll no doubt have been spooked by talk of the Millennium Bug – you may even have taken steps to prevent the glitch from crippling your company’s IT systems.
Now someone is suggesting it was never really a problem – unsurprisingly, they’re using this theory to support their own about Brexit, and the doom-merchants are wrong on the impact of leaving the EU, just as the experts were wrong about the impact of the Millennium Bug.
So, did we really all overestimate the Millennium Bug?
The European Commission (EC) has fined Google a record €4.34 billion (£3.9 billion) for using its Android operating system to “cement its dominant position” in search. So, what’s Google been up to now?
I recently smashed my iPhone screen. I have a decent case that protects it, but when I dropped it, it landed at possibly the only angle that could have smashed the screen – flat on its front. Although I can still use the phone, the screen now has several cracks across the front, and it’s performance (and battery life, it seems) is no longer what it was.
When I finally get around to getting the screen replaced, I will definitely be fitting a screen protector, and I just saw there is a screen protector that claims to improve the phone’s signal strength (!), extend the battery life (!!), and even shield your brain from cellphone radiation (!!!).
Sound too good to be true? Let’s take a closer look…
Mobile phones have evolved well beyond simple communication devices, and smartphones are becoming more and more like personal assistants, where we can manage all of our diary dates and personal finance matters – banking app technology means we can all manage our money with the swipe of the screen.
So, could your smartphone become your new bank?
How much do you trust your smartphone? It might sound like a daft question, but just take a minute or two to think about the sheer volume of sensitive information your phone holds – from banking app logins to business messages and emails – and think how much damage could be done if this information fell into the wrong hands.
So, to help make sure your data doesn’t fall into the wrong hands, here’s how to keep your smartphone secure.