The Core

EU: This Bank Had the Worst Password Policy We've Ever Seen
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/kz4jjv/this-bank-had-the-worst-password-policy-weve-ever-seen

TL;DR:  A European bank makes customers pay to change their passwords, and suggests they Google their password to check if it is secure.

People who would download AnyDesk and let a stranger access their computer should not be banking online, I'll grant that.

A friend who is very non-tech-savvy called me about something he thought might be fishy. I don't remember what scam it was, but it's the kind of thing everyone here would recognize immediately.

I ask him a few questions about password security. The answers are frightening. So I asked him
 - do you bank online? No
 - do you get email notices from your bank? No
 - do you do paperless statements? No
 - do you get text alerts? No

I said, "Okay, keep it that way." As far as his bank is concerned, he has a physical address and a landline.

All of us can be hacked by a determined foe, of course, but some people really should not do anything confidential or financial online. He hardly even shops online, and I told him that was probably a good thing.

But then, there are some people who set themselves up as experts and they say things like

“Insert it on Google: if it returns less than 10 results it means it’s a good password.”

Password tip:  Local or regional places or geo-features make for memorable passwords, particularly if they a hyper-local and not on maps.  Example: A local intersection has been called 'Dog Corner' since before I was born.   Add a string of significant-to-you digits and it is easily memorized. 

UK: £200m lost to bank transfer fraud - Only a third of losses were reimbursed despite new bank code

https://www.which.co.uk/news/2020/09/over-200m-lost-to-bank-transfer-fraud-in-the-first-half-of-2020/

Column: If this is how banks prevent fraud, we're in trouble - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-03-09/column-pandemic-bank-fraud

A Banking App Has Been Suddenly Closing Accounts, Sometimes Not Returning Customers’ Money — ProPublica
https://www.propublica.org/article/chime

PS - Marrero's story reminds me... back in the late 1970s, my brother's bank messed up three times. One time they bounced a check they shouldn't have. I forget the other two. But they admitted they were wrong and canceled the charges, but of course offered no other compensation for the hassle.

So one day he gets his statement and sees they've screwed up a fourth time, but this time accidentally crediting his account for an extra $30. He went down to the bank and took out all his money. They contacted him and demanded the $30 back. He said, "I'm sorry, those are three $10 service charges for the mistakes you made."

The person said, "I'm sorry, we don't pay service charges TO customers." My brother insisted they do, they insisted they don't. He said, "Well, I guess I'll just see your lawyers in small claims court then." Never heard from them again.