WiFi hotspots used by fraudsters to target consumers

Fraudsters are increasingly exploiting public WiFi hotspots to gain access to personal information, spy on internet sessions and hijack transactions.

The is the view of John Marsden, identity and fraud expert at Equifax, who said fraudsters used areas such as coffee shops, who offer free access to the internet.

“In many areas of the UK, multiple WiFi hotspots appear when you search for networks and often the establishments offering free WiFi are not specific about the exact connection to choose,” said John.

“This can lead to unsuspecting consumers inadvertently connecting to a fraudulent WiFi network and the subsequent theft of their personal data.

“Using this technique, fraudsters can take over an individual’s connection and act as a ‘man in the middle’ pretending to be the genuine consumer.”

John added that when WiFi hotspot users conducted transactions and logged on to accounts in these bogus hotspots, they opened themselves up to fraudulent use of their accounts and data theft.

“The ease of availability of devices such as ‘The WiFi Pineapple’ is worrying; designed to help information security professionals learn about hackers, it is freely sold and also used by fraudsters to intercept WiFi traffic,” said John.

“With fraudsters intent on taking over devices and copying the data held on them, consumers need to be ultra-careful that any public WiFi network they join is genuine.”