Pirate wi fi hotspots let hackers steal bank details

Some users were logged on to the pirate hotspot automatically because of the settings on their devices
Some users were logged on to the pirate hotspot automatically because of the settings on their devices
WILL IRELAND/GETTY IMAGES

Smartphone and tablet users are unwittingly logging into pirate wi-fi hotspots that allow hackers to read emails and steal account details.

An experiment in London found that hundreds of people logged into a pirate hotspot in just half an hour because it masqueraded as a free wi-fi point. Many were logged in automatically because of the settings on their devices.

The pirate hotspot, which could be concealed in a small bag, cost £160 to assemble from parts bought online.

The study was carried out by the Cyber Security Research Institute and German security firm SySS on behalf of F-Secure, a Finnish security company. Troels Oerting, assistant director at Europol, said: “We have already seen this in operation.

“The criminals don’t even need to set up