Payments via Mobile Phone: Security
I like to think I keep (reasonably) up to date with technology but there are times when I just hesitate a bit, usually on the grounds of security.
I'm probably way behind the times, in that I have never made a payment via mobile phone. I've recently been prompted to make such a payment; and get directed to a site called Bango , to enter my credit card details.
Whilst I happily send such details across the WWW without a second thought, so long as it is a secure site, I just wondered how secure are these mobile sites. Are there any downsides as compared with web purchases? Thanks.
I'm probably way behind the times, in that I have never made a payment via mobile phone. I've recently been prompted to make such a payment; and get directed to a site called Bango , to enter my credit card details.
Whilst I happily send such details across the WWW without a second thought, so long as it is a secure site, I just wondered how secure are these mobile sites. Are there any downsides as compared with web purchases? Thanks.
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Hi CB,
I've validated things with my phone via txt and calls etc, and do login to the occasional site - but like you would be sceptical to add a credit card into this site i'd never heard of before.
A quick Google to me suggests they are a new company with facebook links, so it may well be legit. and other sites are talking about them
"Milestone follows recent partnership with Facebook.
Bango's operator billing solution enables consumers to pay for items via their phone bill with one click, and it's now available to more than one billion mobile subscribers."
A new company does raise concerns about data security though...
I've validated things with my phone via txt and calls etc, and do login to the occasional site - but like you would be sceptical to add a credit card into this site i'd never heard of before.
A quick Google to me suggests they are a new company with facebook links, so it may well be legit. and other sites are talking about them
"Milestone follows recent partnership with Facebook.
Bango's operator billing solution enables consumers to pay for items via their phone bill with one click, and it's now available to more than one billion mobile subscribers."
A new company does raise concerns about data security though...
I'm suspicious of this too, because of the issue above about phone security rather than the security of websites taking the payments. My desktop sits behind a firewall/router, is well locked down security-wise and is regularly scanned, whereas my phone is essentially connected straight to a public network with all sorts of random possibilities for attack as far as I can tell.
If anyone knows better, it'd be good to hear just how secure or not phone payments are and why, because making payments via mobile would be convenient at times.
If anyone knows better, it'd be good to hear just how secure or not phone payments are and why, because making payments via mobile would be convenient at times.
I don't trust the web, full stop. I keep a credit card specifically for paying for things online but would never use a debit card online.
I would never dream of using my phone to pay for anything or to upload details via one. Mine got hacked last year in Tenerife and they sent out begging emails (and very convincingly too) to over 200 contacts from my email list. Many tried to help by calling me to offer to send money. Just goes to show you how horribly insecure the web via phones is...
I would never dream of using my phone to pay for anything or to upload details via one. Mine got hacked last year in Tenerife and they sent out begging emails (and very convincingly too) to over 200 contacts from my email list. Many tried to help by calling me to offer to send money. Just goes to show you how horribly insecure the web via phones is...
Dear All
I run Marketing Communications for Bango and am based in the UK. I've read all these comments and agree fully that users should be mindful of security on their phone. I do want to correct a couple of things though: Bango has actually been around providing mobile payment services for merchants selling on the mobile web, since 1999. We do this for hundreds of outlets, including Facebook, BlackBerry, Opera, Microsoft... We're a publicly listed company (AIM: BGO). The reason you might not have heard of us is because we're not a consumer brand - We sit behind consumer brands powering payment. However I hope you can be assured that we're real and secure!
Many thanks
Richard Leyland
Bango.
I run Marketing Communications for Bango and am based in the UK. I've read all these comments and agree fully that users should be mindful of security on their phone. I do want to correct a couple of things though: Bango has actually been around providing mobile payment services for merchants selling on the mobile web, since 1999. We do this for hundreds of outlets, including Facebook, BlackBerry, Opera, Microsoft... We're a publicly listed company (AIM: BGO). The reason you might not have heard of us is because we're not a consumer brand - We sit behind consumer brands powering payment. However I hope you can be assured that we're real and secure!
Many thanks
Richard Leyland
Bango.
Sure - The best thing I can point you to is the following from our knowledge base: http://bango.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/485
I'm not sure I can make much of a comparison with other providers as we're compliant with global standards, and I would assume all other providers are too. Probably the best advice is to always check the compliance of any provider that you use.
The majority of the payments we handle are actually not credit card, but operator billing - whereby the charge is direct to your phone bill - Many users report that this makes them feel more comfortable (and is obviously much easier than entering a credit card 's details).
Thanks
I'm not sure I can make much of a comparison with other providers as we're compliant with global standards, and I would assume all other providers are too. Probably the best advice is to always check the compliance of any provider that you use.
The majority of the payments we handle are actually not credit card, but operator billing - whereby the charge is direct to your phone bill - Many users report that this makes them feel more comfortable (and is obviously much easier than entering a credit card 's details).
Thanks
Remember just how easily the tabloid papers were able to hack into mobile phone messages.
When one colleague was getting divorced, her private detective was able to hack into and record pretty well all the calls that her now ex-husband was making. Such recordings can't be used as evidence in any Court but are a useful asset in the investigation.
My father was an research engineer in the telephone industry for most of his career and used to warn me that no (ordinary) phone line was secure. It isn't safe to say anything over a phone line that we wouldn't write on an open postcard and send through the mail!
When one colleague was getting divorced, her private detective was able to hack into and record pretty well all the calls that her now ex-husband was making. Such recordings can't be used as evidence in any Court but are a useful asset in the investigation.
My father was an research engineer in the telephone industry for most of his career and used to warn me that no (ordinary) phone line was secure. It isn't safe to say anything over a phone line that we wouldn't write on an open postcard and send through the mail!
The hacking was so easy because people did not change their password from the manuacturer's default. Most companies have now changed it so the system asks you to change the password when you use it for the first time - and through that the hacking by the newspapers would not have been anywhere near as easy nowadays.
