Internet banking hacker fleeces couple

Banks are being warned to beef up online security after an Upper Hutt couple had their accounts cleaned out by a hacker using keylogging software.

Joanne and Rob Kinnaird discovered at the weekend that their three ANZ accounts had been emptied of $990.

It is believed that someone their log-on details and passwords were stolen using keylogging software, which is sent via email or downloaded from the internet, and records details of keystrokes on their computer.

ANZ has reimbursed the couple.

Mrs Kinnaird told The Dominion Post she was told by a bank employee that she was one of several victims, but ANZ spokesman Craig Howie said he was unaware of this.

Police national e-crime manager Maarten Kleintjes said banks risked losing customer confidence if they did not act "to stop this sort of thing".

Five banks - ASB, BNZ, Bank Direct, HSBC and Rabobank - currently use spyware-blocking "two factor" authentication, where customers are issued with a changeable random code they entered after their passwords.

- NZPA