Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Distrust and the Internet
I got a flyer from Egg the other day, inviting me to take part in a prize draw to win a new car. all I had to do was sign up for their Money Manager service, and add an account to it. For anyone who doesn't know, Egg's Money Manager lets you view all of your online bank accounts in one place: the Egg place, surrounded by ads for Egg's products. I'm sure you see their motivation. Anyway, despite having previously steered clear of Money Manager for security concerns, I decided that the chance to win an Audi made it worth a second look. But as soon as I had registered, I was presented with a screen which asked me to enter the details of my bank accounts. Hmmm. Obviously, Money Manager needs this info to do its job, but I'm wary of phishers, and how could I be 100% sure I was still on Egg's site? what surprised me was that there were no reassuring messages on this page, nothing telling me that I need not worry about entering my details. with phishing scams on the increase, more needs to be done to re-assure people that they're not giving their details away to just anyone. I somehow just didn't feel comfortable giving Egg my account details in this way, and with them offering the prize draw as an incentive, I wonder how many other people are being put off.
I got a flyer from Egg the other day, inviting me to take part in a prize draw to win a new car. all I had to do was sign up for their Money Manager service, and add an account to it. For anyone who doesn't know, Egg's Money Manager lets you view all of your online bank accounts in one place: the Egg place, surrounded by ads for Egg's products. I'm sure you see their motivation. Anyway, despite having previously steered clear of Money Manager for security concerns, I decided that the chance to win an Audi made it worth a second look. But as soon as I had registered, I was presented with a screen which asked me to enter the details of my bank accounts. Hmmm. Obviously, Money Manager needs this info to do its job, but I'm wary of phishers, and how could I be 100% sure I was still on Egg's site? what surprised me was that there were no reassuring messages on this page, nothing telling me that I need not worry about entering my details. with phishing scams on the increase, more needs to be done to re-assure people that they're not giving their details away to just anyone. I somehow just didn't feel comfortable giving Egg my account details in this way, and with them offering the prize draw as an incentive, I wonder how many other people are being put off.
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(c) 2003-2005 Russell Beale
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