Martin Lewis has urges mobile banking users to dial a secret five-digit code
Martin Lewis issues urgent warning to anyone who uses mobile phone banking(Image: ITV)
Martin Lewis has issued an urgent warning to savers that regularly use their mobile phones for banking, emphasising five key safety steps to protect them.
It comes as mobile phone thefts are on the rise, particularly in London, as reports of the crime have jumped by 40 percent.
It isn’t just the physical device the thieves are targeting either, which can be worth a staggering £1,400 alone.
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“Now the crucial thing, they’re not just trying to nick your phone, some of them are trying to access your financial data from your phone. You have to protect yourselves on this, folks,” Martin explained.
The financial guru has urged people to ensure they have Face ID for both their phone and apps, and to also make sure users have different PIN codes for different apps.
He broke this information down into five key points.
The first he recommended is utilising remote tracking applications like Apple’s Find My, Samsung’s Smart Things Find, and Google’s Find My Device to find any stolen devices and stop transactions before they can be used.
The second is the importance of activating biometric security features such as face ID and fingerprint ID, not only for the phone but also for banking apps.
He explained: “If you’re not going to and you’re a pin code type person, please, different pin code for the phone and the banking apps, it’s called shoulder surfing these days. People look over your shoulder to see your pin code, and then if you’re doing the same for both, they can access your money.”
The third piece of advice was to retrieve your IMEI number by simply dialling star #06# on your device, then take a screenshot and save it.
“That is what you’re gonna need to get to the police if your phone is stolen,” Martin said, adding: “That’s roughly what it’s gonna look like, screen grab it and assume. You can access your email not just on your phone. I would just email it to yourself so you’ve got a copy somewhere. It’s #06# try it on your phone, literally on your phone number. I know it sounds weird, but that’s what happens. Let’s get rid of that.”
The fourth is that disabling ‘preview notifications’ is crucial, as he explained: “I think this is possibly the most important one. So loads of people, you know when you pay for something, they send you a code on your phone, second factor identification.
“Many people have that appear on their lock screen, so when your phone’s locked, the code still appears. You don’t want that, it means someone takes your phone, they can get the code and there’s like an easy way to.
“So what you need to do to stop that is turn off your preview notifications. It will still tell you you’ve had a message, but it won’t give you the code on the message. You do that in your settings. Everybody please do that one. It’s a nightmare if you’ve not done it.”
Finally, he recommended bankers look at their phone’s supplementary security features, saying: “And finally, if you’ve got time, check out your phone’s extra security. Protections, lots have them. iPhone has stolen protection, so if you’re in an unfamiliar location to pen a card, you’d need to use biometrics and there’d be a one hour delay on changing your settings.
“Android has theft detection lock, which means if your phone is moved quickly, it locks the screen. All of those things are important. There are thieves who want to access your finances by your phone. It is growing, it is dangerous. Protect yourself, please please people.”
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