Worried my phone was cloned. Fraudulent bank transaction.

[HotTomatoast]

I've just had an alert for a declined £800 online transaction with bank account. Immediately I froze the account, removed Apple Pay, cancelled the card & requested a new one.

I've been trying to understand how my details were compromised. I've just read a post elsewhere about the public Thameslink Train wifi saying that it's a scam and many people have had their phones cloned and accounts compromised by joining the network.

I believe this could have been what has also happened to me. I was on a Thameslink train last week and an option to join the Thameslink public wifi popped up. I hadn't recalled Thameslink ever having wifi, but the mobile reception on my route is awful so I (stupidly) joined it. I may have opened my bank account while on the wifi to check my balance before I went for some shopping and a meal out with friends in London.

I believe I've sorted everything with my banking app, however I'm quite worried now that my phone may have been cloned or at the least, the scammers may have access to other things on my phone - email accounts, photos, social media, etc.

I'm not great with tech. Can anyone advise me on what my best plan of action should be to ensure my mobile, everything on it and all my accounts are secure?

Change passwords on EVERYTHING... Do a antivirus check....

Thameslink trains do have WiFi, or at least some, so it’s probable that the WiFi network was genuine. However, my iPad always warns me it’s not a secure connection. So, as above, change al, your passwords immediately!

Thank you. How would I do an antivirus check on my iPhone?

Thanks. I'll do this now. Would it be an issue if I changed them all on my mobile (easier and they would auto save in my Apple keychain) or would it be best to do on a desktop?

The biggest risk for an iPhone / iPad is not having the latest version of iOS. So I’d check in settings if there’s an update first. Then do a reboot. And the second biggest is probably phishing attempts, which is where the change your password etc level come in I think,

I’d probably do on a different device, but that’s not based on any actual knowledge. It’d just make me feel better! But, I’d check for iOS updates anyway.

This is a big issue for me. My phone is so full it will not install updates anymore

I think I'm at least two iOS updates behind

What’s it full of?

Was the alert genuine? It's possible that was the start of the scam not the result of it

Then you need to clear some storage. iOS updates are security/bug fixes and anything else they decide to update like new versions of things.
You're protected from viruses etc because of the software used for iOS.
It's tremendously difficult to hack iPhones but it won't be if your phone hasn't got the latest updates

I genuinely don't know!

It says it's only got 3GB of space left and the latest update required 12GB.

I have my phone backed up to iCloud but I've got over 57k photos and 4k videos on my phone, but I'm worried if I delete any to make space that they'll also disappear from the iCloud. I'm awful with tech. I have no idea how it all syncs and works together.

Yes it was genuine. The transaction appears in my banking app.

Go into settings and storage and you can see what the biggest culprits are.

Yeah, this is why I'm confused. I have done, and it says my photos as well as what's app.

I guess I need to go through and delete the photos and files from what's app, but I thought they were stored on the cloud as well.

If you want to keep photos in iCloud but not on your phone you need to turn off photo syncing first. Otherwise deleting from the phone will delete them from iCloud (though they are recoverable for 30 days in deleted picture I think)

go to settings
click on you name at the top
click on iCloud
then photos
toggle off ‘Sync this iphone’

Deleting photos from the phone will then free up space. 56k photos will take a fair bit! You’ll then be able to update iOS.

Delete some conversation threads from WhatsApp first maybe?

You've done the right thing by cancelling your card.

Speak to your banks fraud department, they are the experts in this. They know about the different type of frauds and how they are done. Action fraud uk are also helpful