May 28, 20242 yr Author 3 minutes ago, vikas83 said: I won't put Venmo, Zelle, etc. or even a banking app on my phone. Know people who have had their phones stolen/taken and someone got the passcode. When you say "passcode" do you mean the overall device passcode or are you talking about the apps own passcode/password?
May 28, 20242 yr 1 minute ago, DrPhilly said: When you say "passcode" do you mean the overall device passcode or are you talking about the apps own passcode/password? Device passcode. It's been a rampant problem in places like NYC with people going out to bars. Chick talks to you, watches you enter passcode, then someone steals your phone later. That passcode gets you into a lot of the apps and allows Face ID to be disabled, and you can be locked out of your Apple account (hence no Apple Pay for me). Apple's latest iOS has a fix -- https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/ap-top-news/2024/01/25/how-to-tech-why-its-important-to-turn-on-apples-new-stolen-device-protection https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/apple-iphone-security-theft-passcode-data-privacya-basic-iphone-feature-helps-criminals-steal-your-digital-life-cbf14b1a Quote NEW YORK—In the early hours of Thanksgiving weekend, Reyhan Ayas was leaving a bar in Midtown Manhattan when a man she had just met snatched her iPhone 13 Pro Max. Within a few minutes, the 31-year-old, a senior economist at a workforce intelligence startup, could no longer get into her Apple account and all the stuff attached to it, including photos, contacts and notes. Over the next 24 hours, she said, about $10,000 vanished from her bank account. Similar stories are piling up in police stations around the country. Using a remarkably low-tech trick, thieves watch iPhone owners tap their passcodes, then steal their targets’ phones—and their digital lives. [Read our guide with tips to protect your iPhone data from thieves.] The thieves are exploiting a simple vulnerability in the software design of over one billion iPhones active globally. It centers on the passcode, the short string of numbers that grants access to a device; and passwords, generally longer alphanumeric combinations that serve as the logins for different accounts. With only the iPhone and its passcode, an interloper can within seconds change the password associated with the iPhone owner’s Apple ID. This would lock the victim out of their account, which includes anything stored in iCloud. The thief can also often loot the phone’s financial apps since the passcode can unlock access to all the device’s stored passwords. "Once you get into the phone, it’s like a treasure box,” said Alex Argiro, who investigated a high-profile theft ring as a New York Police Department detective before retiring last fall. He said there have been hundreds of these sorts of crimes in the city in the past two years. "This is growing,” he said. "It is such an opportunistic crime. Everyone has financial apps.” Apple Inc. has marketed itself as the leader in digital privacy and security, selling its tightly integrated hardware, software and iCloud web services as the best protection for its customers’ data. "Security researchers agree that iPhone is the most secure consumer mobile device, and we work tirelessly every day to protect all our users from new and emerging threats,” an Apple spokeswoman said. "We sympathize with users who have had this experience and we take all attacks on our users very seriously, no matter how rare,” she said, adding that the company believes these crimes are uncommon because they require the theft of the device and the passcode. "We will continue to advance the protections to help keep user accounts secure.” An examination of the recent spate of thefts reveals a possible gap in Apple’s armor. The company’s defenses are designed around common attack scenarios—the hacker on the internet attempting to use a person’s login credentials, or the thief on the street looking to snatch an iPhone for a quick sale.
May 28, 20242 yr 29 minutes ago, vikas83 said: I won't put Venmo, Zelle, etc. or even a banking app on my phone. Know people who have had their phones stolen/taken and someone got the passcode. Wow really?? Surprised you don’t have the online banking to at least remind you that you’re rich.
May 28, 20242 yr 24 minutes ago, vikas83 said: Device passcode. It's been a rampant problem in places like NYC with people going out to bars. Chick talks to you, watches you enter passcode, then someone steals your phone later. That passcode gets you into a lot of the apps and allows Face ID to be disabled, and you can be locked out of your Apple account (hence no Apple Pay for me). Apple's latest iOS has a fix -- https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/ap-top-news/2024/01/25/how-to-tech-why-its-important-to-turn-on-apples-new-stolen-device-protection https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/apple-iphone-security-theft-passcode-data-privacya-basic-iphone-feature-helps-criminals-steal-your-digital-life-cbf14b1a What kind of poors do you hang out with that don't have phones with facial recognition?
May 28, 20242 yr 53 minutes ago, vikas83 said: I won't put Venmo, Zelle, etc. or even a banking app on my phone. Know people who have had their phones stolen/taken and someone got the passcode. Enable biometrics and then ensure any other login method requires 2FA. Best of both worlds.
May 28, 20242 yr 49 minutes ago, vikas83 said: Device passcode. It's been a rampant problem in places like NYC with people going out to bars. Chick talks to you, watches you enter passcode, then someone steals your phone later. That passcode gets you into a lot of the apps and allows Face ID to be disabled, and you can be locked out of your Apple account (hence no Apple Pay for me). Apple's latest iOS has a fix -- https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/ap-top-news/2024/01/25/how-to-tech-why-its-important-to-turn-on-apples-new-stolen-device-protection https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/apple-iphone-security-theft-passcode-data-privacya-basic-iphone-feature-helps-criminals-steal-your-digital-life-cbf14b1a Never enter your gesture or passcode in public. Way too many cameras can easily pick up on them. Even aside from being captured on video, gestures especially are prone to brute forcing due to the smudge trace on the glass. Face ID or fingerprint are safest.
May 28, 20242 yr 26 minutes ago, paco said: What kind of poors do you hang out with that don't have phones with facial recognition? Yeah the only time you can't use biometrics is on a reboot or lock out, which should rarely happen in public.
May 28, 20242 yr I don’t go to the bank either. I deposit checks using my phone. The only time I go into a bank is when the check is over my mobile banking limit ($7500 I think)
May 28, 20242 yr 5 hours ago, VanHammersly said: I've started using cash as much as possible after talking to our friend's 17 year old son. Dude said he knows a lot of kids that take the cards you give them at the drive through or where ever and tap their little reader thing on their phone and they take out really small transactions on a regular basis and no one notices. I'm way too clueless about what's being charged on my card. Better to use cash instead of handing my card over to some teenage scumbag. That happens a lot at concerts/festivals. They recommend using an rfid blocker 1 hour ago, DiPros said: I just recently signed up for Zelle. I don't have Venmo , paypal, I barely have any apps on my phone. Are they safe? Safer than me just handing over the card? I check my transactions almost daily. PayPal pay in 4 is nice to use if a company accepts it
May 28, 20242 yr 46 minutes ago, paco said: What kind of poors do you hang out with that don't have phones with facial recognition? You can use the passcode in lieu of Face ID
May 28, 20242 yr 25 minutes ago, we_gotta_believe said: Enable biometrics and then ensure any other login method requires 2FA. Best of both worlds. I also don't need unlimited access to my money at certain times...
May 28, 20242 yr 3 minutes ago, vikas83 said: I also don't need unlimited access to my money at certain times... If so then you should ensure all your bank / credit / brokerage accounts are set up to use a different phone line for 2FA. Otherwise it's no different than a thief stealing your phone to get access to the 2FA codes anyhow.
May 28, 20242 yr Author Finger/face can be circumvented if someone really wants your phone and is willing to get physical with you. It takes a bit more work to coerce a device passcode out of someone. The banking apps I use all require an app password on every single use. The device passcode won't help in those cases.
May 28, 20242 yr 1 hour ago, DrPhilly said: Just had that situation last night. One guy paid the bill and everyone used a mobile app to xfer their part to him. I am sick of needing an app for everything I want to do.
May 28, 20242 yr Author 5 minutes ago, Toastrel said: I am sick of needing an app for everything I want to do. Understood. Everyone here uses that particular app (Swish). Ask your Swedish friend about it. They will surely have it.
May 28, 20242 yr I thought I was the only one who didn't do banking on my phone. I've only used it (Zelle) via my laptop so far.
May 28, 20242 yr 31 minutes ago, we_gotta_believe said: If so then you should ensure all your bank / credit / brokerage accounts are set up to use a different phone line for 2FA. Otherwise it's no different than a thief stealing your phone to get access to the 2FA codes anyhow. None of those accounts can be accessed by my phone. I have no mobile banking apps of any kind.
May 28, 20242 yr 32 minutes ago, we_gotta_believe said: If so then you should ensure all your bank / credit / brokerage accounts are set up to use a different phone line for 2FA. Otherwise it's no different than a thief stealing your phone to get access to the 2FA codes anyhow. If you mean texting me a code to access online banking, anything of substance requires verbal authorization.
May 28, 20242 yr 53 minutes ago, Dave Moss said: I don’t go to the bank either. I deposit checks using my phone. The only time I go into a bank is when the check is over my mobile banking limit ($7500 I think) You need a new agent. My white privilege checks are way bigger than that.
May 28, 20242 yr Author I have used exactly one check in Sweden and that was back in the 80s. No one uses checks over here. Been that way for decades. These days, I write three of four a year against my US accounts for stuff like gifts to my nieces/nephews, fees for fantasy football, etc.
May 28, 20242 yr 27 minutes ago, vikas83 said: None of those accounts can be accessed by my phone. I have no mobile banking apps of any kind. Even aside from apps, a browser login from an untrusted device will trigger a 2FA code (usually texted to the phone number when you set up your account.) Not having an app installed is typically a low hurdle if someone gains direct access to your phone.
May 28, 20242 yr 8 minutes ago, we_gotta_believe said: Even aside from apps, a browser login from an untrusted device will trigger a 2FA code (usually texted to the phone number when you set up your account.) Not having an app installed is typically a low hurdle if someone gains direct access to your phone. And that's why online banking is also disabled, other than for the checking account. Anything else requires a phone call.
May 28, 20242 yr 4 minutes ago, vikas83 said: And that's why online banking is also disabled, other than for the checking account. Anything else requires a phone call. I'm not familiar with phone calls. Do you they fax you your bank statements too?
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