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Targobank logo: A recent attack apparently affected around 6000 accounts
Photo: Michael Gstettenbauer / IMAGO
Around 6000 Targobank customers need new logins for online banking. According to a report by »Heise Online«, the background is digital burglary attempts. » Unauthorized persons have tried to access the online banking access of some of our customers," a spokesperson for the bank told the technology magazine: "Our bank's security systems have detected this and prevented access." In order to ensure the "highest possible security", however, new access data would now have to be created. Those affected are expected to receive a letter in the coming days with information on how to log back in.
»Heise Online« writes that readers had previously reported to the magazine that they had not been able to access their online banking at Targobank either via app or web browser »since Saturday of the previous week«. However, it was still possible to pay by card.
As of Tuesday morning, there is no reference to the attack attempt on the Targobank homepage, which apparently did not cause any further damage.
Banks are a popular target
Basically, banks and their service providers are a lucrative target for cybercriminals. Even if the perpetrators do not succeed in making transfers themselves, they can use captured information to launch targeted phishing attacks or make purchases on behalf of others. This summer, for example, a hack at the service provider Majorel had consequences for the customers of several German banks.
However, if you receive e-mails or text messages in the name of your bank that your account has allegedly been hacked – and in the course of this, you should enter your current data again, for example – should be extremely careful. This is because criminals repeatedly use such false alarms to trick users and thus obtain their genuine bank log-in data, which is usually still valid as normal. As in the case of Targobank, banks usually inform their customers by post in the event of real problems.
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