A boat trip around Zante sparked a digital security nightmare for a British tourist
Credit: Zante/fb
A young holidaymaker named Lydia Coates has shared a cautionary tale on TikTok about a trip to Zante, Greece, that turned into a financial nightmare.
What started as a misplaced phone on a boat trip escalated into a major identity theft scare after the thief accessed her online banking using information gleaned from her phone case.
Never store your driving licence with your phone
Coates was using her birthday easily accessible from her driver s licence stored in her phone case as both her phone password and online banking access code. While the phone itself wasn t immediately compromised, the thief used this readily available information to drain her help-to-buy ISA, a significant chunk of her savings.
Despite assurances from boat trip organisers, a thorough search for the missing phone failed. Worse, upon returning home, Coates discovered a hefty unauthorised transfer to a stranger named Jessica. This seemingly idyllic holiday had transformed into a race against time to protect her identity and finances.
Identity theft protection
Fortunately, Coates managed to reclaim the stolen funds through her bank s fraud protection scheme. However, the ordeal left a lasting impact. She had to change all her bank details and sign up for identity theft protection, a constant reminder of the vulnerability exposed by her stolen phone.
Always use complex passwords for your phone and online accounts, avoiding easily guessable information like birthdays.
Activate your phone s lock screen features, such as fingerprint or facial recognition, and consider anti-theft apps that can help track a missing device.
Sign up for personalised news
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our
Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Leave a comment Cancel reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Website
Comment for robots
Known as the PEOPLE’S PAPER, Euro Weekly News is the leading English language newspaper in Spain. And it’s FREE!
Covering the Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca, Almeria, Axarquia, Mallorca and beyond, EWN supports and inspires the individuals, neighbourhoods, and communities we serve, by delivering news with a social conscience. Whether it’s local news in Spain, UK news or international stories, we are proud to be the voice for the expat communities who now call Spain home.
With around half a million print readers a week and over 1.5 million web views per month, EWN has the biggest readership of any English language newspaper in Spain. The paper prints over 150 news stories a week with many hundreds more on the web – no one else even comes close.
Our publication has won numerous awards over the last 25 years including Best Free Newspaper of the Year (Premios AEEPP), Company of the Year (Costa del Sol Business Awards) and Collaboration with Foreigners honours (Mijas Town Hall). All of this comes at ZERO cost to our readers. All our print and online content always has been and always will be FREE OF CHARGE.
Sign up for personalised news
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Close