Bord Gáis stolen laptops: thieves could have access to set up their own direct debit!

Re: Bord Gáis stolen laptops: thieves could have access to set up their own direct de

lou2 said:
But somebody could go in to a bank branch and attempt to take out money in person if they have the a/c number and sort code could they not? I know that I am not always asked for ID when I withdraw relatively small sums of money (100-200), and I am not known at the bank so it's not as if they recognise me. If they did this to even a small proportion of the accounts that they have details of I think they would be making a fortune.
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This still goes back to the fact that any cheque will have that information written on it ie. sortcode and account number so how can one withdraw from the account?

On a different note, I had an issue last week when funds were taken from my current a/c (€1k) via laser transactions. I had the card in my possession all the time but the user managed to pay bills etc by quoting my card number and expiry date. No pin or signature was required as it was all done(I believe) by telephone. The user is traceable in this particular case.

My card was never used in an ATM other than for initial validation and yet someone managed to use it fradulently.

Obviously this is a security loophole of a kind and yet it is probably happening regulary without it making headline news.
 
Re: Bord Gáis stolen laptops: thieves could have access to set up their own direct de

Sure dont you hear stories of people getting the relevant information from just going through your bins!!! Not very high tech but apparently if you know what you are doing you can make money from it.
 
Re: Bord Gáis stolen laptops: thieves could have access to set up their own direct de

"This still goes back to the fact that any cheque will have that information written on it ie. sortcode and account number so how can one withdraw from the account?"

By simply walking in to a bank branch, filling out a withdrawal slip with the relevant details (obtained from the laptop) and withdrawing the money. I recently went in to a bank and withdrew money from my sisters account. She had given me the a/c number and sort code. I wasn't asked for ID. Surely, someone who has these details can do the same?
 
Re: Bord Gáis stolen laptops: thieves could have access to set up their own direct de

They compare the signature they have on file in a lot of banks when withdrawing.
 
Re: Bord Gáis stolen laptops: thieves could have access to set up their own direct de

By simply walking in to a bank branch, filling out a withdrawal slip with the relevant details (obtained from the laptop) and withdrawing the money. I recently went in to a bank and withdrew money from my sisters account. She had given me the a/c number and sort code. I wasn't asked for ID. Surely, someone who has these details can do the same?
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If they let you do that - they shouldn't have. It's against every branch procedure of the bank I used to work for (one of the "big 2")
 
Re: Bord Gáis stolen laptops: thieves could have access to set up their own direct de

I recently (accidentally as I happen to know the account number and mixed it up with mine) withdrew money from my mother's account with BOI. Not my own branch either (which also happens to be hers)
 
Re: Bord Gáis stolen laptops: thieves could have access to set up their own direct de

lou2 said:
"
I recently went in to a bank and withdrew money from my sisters account. She had given me the a/c number and sort code. I wasn't asked for ID. Surely, someone who has these details can do the same?
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I doubt it...
Would they be that stupid to get themselves caught on at least half a dozen cameras????

aristotle25 said:
They compare the signature they have on file in a lot of banks when withdrawing.
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Exactly... Or else they knew you.
I withdraw & cash cheques regularly from a company account without ID but thats because the staff know me..
Come on people think logically & stop being scared witless by the media.
How often do you see adverts for charities etc quoting Account Numbers & sort codes.
Virtually every utility bill you recieve will have this information on the payment slip.
Companies regularly give out this information to accept credit transfers.

If someone is really silly enough to walk into a bank full of cameras to make a fraudulant withdrawl & the person in the bank is silly enough to give them your money without making the relevant checks they they are at fault & will be refunding you anyway.
 
Re: Bord Gáis stolen laptops: thieves could have access to set up their own direct de

Is it just a co-incidence that the Bord Gais (gas) bills that are issuing this week aren't showing that the bill is paid by DD?

Work colleague got her gas bill earlier in the week, with a "pay by date" on the bottom of the bill. No mention of "payment by DD on dd/mm/yy" which is the usual. She knew she had a DD set up, phoned BG and was told that there was a "problem with printing", the DD was indeed in place, and she need do nothing more regarding the bill.

Got my own bill today and same situation. I switched to BG electricity, she did not.

Have BG lost more than they think they have, or are telling us they have?
 
Re: Bord Gáis stolen laptops: thieves could have access to set up their own direct de

I guess I am lucky, I would not change over because I will not use DD. I had too much trouble in the past, companies not cancelling them etc. no control over payments if there is a dispute.
I also had an experience a few years ago when the bank sent me someone else’s cheque book, I was unknowingly writing the other persons cheques out and the bank was paying them. To my surprise I found out that they only check signature if it is over a €1,000
 
Re: Bord Gáis stolen laptops: thieves could have access to set up their own direct de

The big problem (IMHO) is that the banks (to the best of my knowledge) will accept and permit an electronic direct debit payment by default. They don't actually have to get a signed mandate and set up 'permission' for the company to debit that account. It is only in cases of disputes that they go looking for the mandate.

This could easily be tightened up, by ensuring that the banks have to explicitly set up permission for a DD to start, and can withdraw this permission at any time.
 
Re: Bord Gáis stolen laptops: thieves could have access to set up their own direct de

The best solution is to abolish paperless DDs. Banks should be insisting on signed mandates. Of course the big users of paperless systems will resist this.
 
Re: Bord Gáis stolen laptops: thieves could have access to set up their own direct de

Hey Guys. I work for Bord Gais and to be totally honest with you there is nothing to worry about. 4 laptops were stolen 1 of them had the Direct Debit details on them of customers who signed up before 29th of May the laptop had a very very strong password on it and there has been no suspicious transactions on any customers bank account. All the laptops are now encrypted.

Usually what happens with stolen laptops the memory gets wiped within 24 hours and they get sold on. Just keep an eye out on your bank accounts and if there is anything taken out of your bank your bank is liable to pay the full amount back to you.
 
Re: Bord Gáis stolen laptops: thieves could have access to set up their own direct de

BG should be fined heavily for this.
 
Re: Bord Gáis stolen laptops: thieves could have access to set up their own direct de

It's very unfortunate that the premise was broken into.
 
Re: Bord Gáis stolen laptops: thieves could have access to set up their own direct de

Their insurance will cover it.
 
Re: Bord Gáis stolen laptops: thieves could have access to set up their own direct de

dubgal2009 said:
Hey Guys. I work for Bord Gais and to be totally honest with you there is nothing to worry about. 4 laptops were stolen 1 of them had the Direct Debit details on them of customers who signed up before 29th of May the laptop had a very very strong password on it and there has been no suspicious transactions on any customers bank account.
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You're totally wrong about the password. If the files are protected by a Windows password, the thieves can remove the hard drive from the laptop, put it into another computer and access all the files without needing any password at all. If the password is on Excel or another application, that's easy to break too. The only true protection is not having copies of the data and encrypting the one copy you do have.

I can't understand this lax attitude to personal data (not just aimed at you btw, but you demonstrate it too). I entrusted my personal details to your company and for some unknown reason, they were copied to other computers without encryption, the computers they were copied to were presumably left unprotected and now you and your PR department are telling me it's no big deal. That's completely unacceptable.

For comparison, my company deals with credit cards so we're PCI compliant. That means I have no access to the part of the building the servers are kept in, the admins who do have access, don't have the encryption keys to decrypt the card details and there are no laptops lying around with production data. It isn't rocket science - we just know that if we screw up, we go out of business. The same doesn't apply to BGE because they're a semi-state so no-one is responsible.
 
Re: Bord Gáis stolen laptops: thieves could have access to set up their own direct de

Why were account details stored on a laptop in the first place? This information should only be on a file server which is firewalled, encrypted and held in a strongroom which has restricted access.
 
Re: Bord Gáis stolen laptops: thieves could have access to set up their own direct de

Hobbs256 said:
Why were account details stored on a laptop in the first place? This information should only be on a file server which is firewalled, encrypted and held in a strongroom which has restricted access.
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Can someone explain what bit of information was on this laptop that should be confidential???
You Give your AC number & sort code to everyone you write a cheque to.
BG & every other service providor give every customer their A/C number & sort code.
You name & address is also freely available.
Markpb exactly what personal details did you entrust to BG that is so confidential?
Because when I sigened up thats the only info I gave them. I think you are really over reacting.
 
Re: Bord Gáis stolen laptops: thieves could have access to set up their own direct de

Why defend the indefensible?
 
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