internet banking cancelled due to problem

hi

not sure if anyone can help with this, but i have a friend (so, sorry dont have lots of info here) who has been told by his bank that he will no longer be able to use internet banking until he sorts out a problem they have identified.

apparently they have told him that he is connecting to the internet banking site through an american ISP (we are in the uk) and as such they wont allow him to use the service in case there is a security concern.

he is using BT Broadband and has some security software, though i dont know exact details or how up-to-date it is (zonealarn and norton).

i've told him to update norton and run a full scan in case it is a dialler thats causing this - could this happen if he is using broadband?

can anyone throw any light on what has happened here? sorry for lack of details.

thanks, lee

 

If you can rule out somebody else trying to use his account then i think it could be this.

It's possible that he is using some kind of Proxy/Anonymiser service that is either, based in the USA or Appears to come from there.

The bank is just being alert, and it's good they are !


StevieO

 

thanks for the reply StevieO.

i can understand how diallers work with dialups, but how do they work with broadband? is it just the same? i thought the reason for diallers was to get you to dial up a premium rate number to access the internet.

i'm also going to ask him to try some online scans too in case norton isnt set up right.

cheers, lee

 

Dialers would only affect dial-up connections. Somehow his connection is getting routed through an American server, some kind of anonymizing proxy would be kind of high on the suspect list, does he use Ghost Surf or anything of that sort? In addition to scans (might try the one at http://www.ewido.net too) make sure he has a firewall set up as well. You can reffer to the second link in my sig for more scans, including spyware and trojan port scans. It is entirely possible that his connection is just getting routed through the US by normal means, but it does seem a bit strange. Good for his bank, though! Wish we heard more stories like that around here

 

Lee,

Make sure your friend contacts the bank directly about this problem rather than through any links which may have accompanied the notification of the problem. The reason is to be absolutely certain you are not being asked to provide any account/password/identification information over the Internet in order to prevent becoming a victim of a phishing scam which as we know results in El Drano of the account.

-- Tom

 

thanks guys! good advice and things to try and check there, cheers!

lee

 

As others have mentioned, anonymisers/proxy software is the most likely cause here.

However this does sound like overzealous security by the bank - there are plenty of legitimate reasons for access via ISPs in other countries and it suggests a lack of confidence in their other security mechanisms if they have to restrict access by IP address.

 

Some banks over here (Australia) now routinely replace credit cards when you travel over to certain countries and you have to notify the bank before you go just to avoid having it canceled when you try to use it over there.


Mike