Several SJ customers have been scammed and have had their travel points stolen. The fraudsters have obtained the users' passwords and hijacked their accounts.
The so-called Prio points are used to buy trips or goods at SJ. When the fraudsters gained access to accounts, they purchased trips that they then resold on social media for the cryptocurrency bitcoin. The scope has been limited and SJ has so far identified 15 customers who have been affected, says Tobbe Lundell, press manager at SJ.
Frequent travelers who have had fairly large amounts of points are at risk.
– I understand that it is not customers with few points who have been affected, he says.
1.3 million
Last December, SJ was forced to take drastic measures when it emerged that login details for the Prio system had been leaked online. All 1.3 million users had to change their passwords. To some extent, the events are related, according to Tobbe Lundell, because the recently discovered fraud is not seen as an intrusion, but rather the criminals have probably diligently tried to work their way through passwords that were available online.
– It hasn't happened quite the same way this time, but we still believe, just like last time, that the fraudsters have come across passwords from other places and tested them on our identities, he says.
The people affected most likely had the same password at SJ as they had on other sites. The advice to protect yourself is simple:
– Change to a unique password.
”With hindsight”
The first fraud was discovered on June 14 and those affected have had their points returned after changing their passwords. The incidents have also been reported to the police and the Swedish Data Protection Authority. Those who bought tickets with bitcoins may also have been guilty of a crime, according to SJ. It is unclear how much the fraudsters have traded.
SJ is now introducing a two-factor solution when users redeem Prio points, which means that they will need to identify themselves with a bank ID.
TT: Shouldn't you have had that solution from the beginning?
– With hindsight, you can absolutely agree, but development is moving forward on both the good and bad sides, says Tobbe Lundell.
Source: TT
