Has anyone else had their Nectar points nicked?

[smallchange]

I checked the app yesterday and noticed I was down several thousand points.

Not a huge deal as I don't use it much so it wasn't a large amount of money, but I'm baffled as to how it can have happened.

The points were spent in Golders Green near the beginning of the month and I was 400 miles away. I've never been to GG in any case, and not to London in a couple of years.

Anyway Nectar are refunding and have closed the account and opened a new one for me, but how did they manage this??

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/beatthescammers/article-14278183/How-12-5m-Nectar-points-worth-nearly-63-000-stolen-readers-past-year.html

That's interesting. Thanks for sharing - Nectar continuing to be pretty closed mouthed about the whole thing though.

It seems Nectar have implemented a lock on points being spent, but I can't see how to do it on either the app or the website.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/beatthescammers/article-14358301/Nectar-finally-launches-lock-feature-loyalty-card-app-shine-light-millions-points-stolen.html

I've just found a thread on HotUKDeals and apparently it is being rolled out over the next week or so, so watch this space I guess.

This is timely.
I had an email this morning to say you've spent 500 points at Kidbrooke Village.
Never been there in all my life.
Contacted them on the live chat; apparently all sorted and will have new cards, account logins etc.
But they also said they'd email a confirmation to say it's all been sorted and I've not received one yet 🤨

That was a brilliant spot as many of us who have had the points stolen have had 500 points spent the day before.

I'm not sure I got an email though, but I did get a text with the new card number and my card arrived in the post a while later.

I haven't received a text yet either @ShamblesRock
Luckily, there aren't many points built up as we had used them over Christmas for food bank donations.
Hope karma bites them big time the CFs
😡

Ha. This happened to us a few weeks ago. Got an email telling me two separate transactions had been made, miles away in London (where we aren’t) and cleared out virtually all our points. Not a massive amount but still about 60 quids'-worth.

We rang them and they stopped the cards, reinstated the points and promised new cards (I use the app but DH refuses to so he wants a card). No idea how they hacked into the account. Having been told the cards were on their way, they still haven't arrived, over 3 weeks later, though we’ve been given the new Nectar account number and I’ve changed it on the app and can see the new card is working correctly and tracking our legit purchases.

DH rang them today to complain about the non-arrival of the cards, having rung once before to prompt them and been promised they’d been posted via courier. He was told they hadn’t been posted at all! Now apparently they'll arrive 'within 10 days'.

I'm off to investigate this lock feature….

I'm off to investigate this lock feature….

Please let me know if you manage to do it @Grawlix
I've just had a look on my app, and I can't find anything related to it.
I won't hold my breath re the new cards then!
I just mainly use the keyring tag and use the self scan thingies.

I had actual ££ nicked off my Iceland Bonus card, seconds after I had used it in store. I was sure it was the cashier but they said it had been hacked into. They refunded the amount in the condition that I changed my password. I don't put money on it anymore.

On reading that article more closely, it says only the primary account user will be able to use the lock - and DH is our 'primary account holder'; I’m the secondary one. So I won’t be able to use it, despite having the app, for which it would arguably be more useful. Huh.

Thanks @Grawlix.
It's not a feature I can currently see on my app, but maybe it's because nectar have said they are closing this account - who knows!

I agree. I picked up that a good few were being 'spent' in London. Sounds like hackers to me! Someone (probably more than one individual) is raking it in. I know loyalty card holders details get sold on. Gift cards are another easy target for thieves & get stolen more around Christmas. Not good at all! 😬

The 'lock' feature appeared on my app today - should be on the homepage just under your points total

They took mine just in November-in Leyton I think, somewhere in London I hadn’t been to. £200 and odd I was saving for Christmas. Resolved now, new card etc etc but I didn’t get the points back before Christmas.

What is like to know is how they're doing this. Are they guessing card details with an algorithm? Nobody gets sight of DH’s card. Or has somebody hacked into my app? It’s clearly an absolutely massive problem. I haven’t seen a proper explanation of HOW it’s happening yet.

This may have been mentioned up thread, but just in case it hasn't Nectar has now offered the option of locking your nectar points on your account - go to the app or the site.
You’ll have to unlock to spend.

Yes, I noticed this, Maggie. If you share an account with someone it’s only the primary account holder who can lock it, apparently. I'll have to get DH to do this as he just happens to be that person - I’m the one who uses the app while he uses the physical card, so it would be easier/quicker/more convenient for me to do it but I can’t, annoyingly.

Well! After locking my almost £500 worth of points in February and feeling a bit comforted by doing so I’ve discovered tonight that I now only have £8.55 worth of points 😱

Will be calling them in the morrow!!

And that’s despite using the new 'lock' feature, @Maggiethecat? OMG. That’s absolutely terrible. Please update on what they say when you (quite rightly) read them the riot act!

I listened to an old edition of You & Yours on R4 where someone who'd had his points stolen decided to find out how it had been done. He was understandably cagey about revealing it on air but said he’d cracked it with simple algorithms and it was alarmingly easy for anyone wanting to get their hands on someone else’s money (ie criminals). The physical card isn’t needed and they don’t even need to start with knowing its number. He details it on his website and it is indeed very simple to do.

DH and I finally got our new cards after many weeks and our points were restored, so we decided the best thing to do was spend them asap. Our next grocery shop - £50-odd - cost 15p as a result!

Well!! It seems they were stolen before it was locked.

My nectar app has always played up and would often direct me to the website, needing an emailed code etc so I never checked activity regularly.

The points were locked in February and points stolen mid January. All 92,000 of them at Argos, not sure where.

Nectar are investigating and will get back to me with a new account and hopefully restore the points.

Mine were spent I Brighton, I was in Essex. Re credited and new card. Think it’s becoming a problem as you can now lock them.

Points put back on my card now!