Revealed, UK banks ‘with worst online security record’

ONLINE security flaws at major banks are leaving customers exposed to fraud, an investigation has found.

Tesco Bank, TSB and Santander had the worst gaps in online safety, according to consumer group Which?.

It comes as Britain continues to battle a fraud epidemic, with victims losing as much as £4million every day.

Which? said that while it was largely safe to use online banking, its researchers, working in conjunction with security experts 6point6, found a series of flaws.

Tesco Bank received the poorest rating in the Which? testing.

The consumer group said, among other issues, it failed to block testers from logging on to its website from two computer networks at the same time and did not log out when switching to a different website.

TSB finished second from bottom in the test. Which? said it had found issues with the firm’s login process, saying it did not meet new regulations introduced in March.

Santander rounded off the bottom three. The consumer group said it had found that authentication checks when logging in can be bypassed in some cases.

Harry Rose, editor of Which? magazine, said: ‘ The serious failings we have exposed with some providers reinforce the need for banks to up their game on scam protections, and for greater transparency and stronger standards on fraud reimbursement to be made mandatory for all banks and payment providers.’

Despite the security flaws, banks are not routinely refunding customers who fall victim to fraud. Around £207.8million was lost to scammers in the first six months of last year, but just £73.1million was repaid by victims’ banks, according to industry figures.

Most of the banks which were investigated are signed up to a code that pledges to reimburse scam victims if they are not to blame.

The code was welcomed by Money Mail, which launched its Stop the Bank Scammers campaign more than two years ago.

TSB has its own fraud refund guarantee, which reimburses innocent victims of fraud.

Starling Bank came out top in the testing. Which? said experts found nothing concerning with its recently launched online banking website.

Barclays, HSBC and First Direct tied for second spot, but had areas where improvement is needed, Which? said.

A Tesco Bank spokesman said it took the security of its customers ‘ very seriously’ and added: ‘ Many of the security measures we use on customers’ behalf are not visible to external parties, and these measures invalidate a number of the findings of this survey.’

A TSB spokesman said providing customers with safe and secure banking is a priority, adding: ‘ We are the only bank that offers a guarantee to refund all innocent victims of fraud – including those who lose money to online scams.’

And a spokesman for Santander said: ‘ The Which? review only focuses on the customer- facing elements of security and it is important to understand that there are many other ‘back end’ measures that we employ to ensure we keep our customers safe.’

‘Up their scam protections’