As many as 20,000 customers are reported to have lost money from their Tesco Bank accounts after a hacking attack. As a result, the bank has stopped all online payments for current account customers.
The bank’s chief executive, Benny Higgins, apologised for the “worry and inconvenience” and confirmed that over the weekend some accounts were victims of online criminal activity, with instances of money having been withdrawn.
“Tesco Bank can confirm that, over the weekend, some of its customers’ current accounts have been subject to online criminal activity, in some cases resulting in money being withdrawn fraudulently,” he said.
As a result, a “precautionary measure” has been taken to stop online payments for current account customers. However, Higgins said that current account customers will still be able to use their cards for cash withdrawals, chip and pin payments, and all existing bill payments and direct debits will continue as normal.
In some cases, customers have had their cards blocked.
As a precaution we have notified some customers that we have blocked their cards to protect their account – https://t.co/m8zjO6BKgj
— Tesco Bank Help (@tescobankhelp) November 6, 2016
Higgins also said:
“We continue to work with the authorities and regulators to address the fraud and will keep our customers informed through regular updates on our website, twitter and direct communication.
He also added that customers that were victims of the fraud will be refunded as soon as possible.
“We can reassure customers that any financial loss as a result of this activity will be resolved fully by Tesco Bank, and we are working to refund accounts that have been subject to fraud as soon as possible.”
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