Natwest Bank

[virmin 0]

Just letting you know that Natwest Bank (https://personal.natwest.com/personal.html & https://www.nwolb.com) is blocked via Kitel (possibly others) but accessible via Algedi.

 

Error via the browser reads, "The requested URL was rejected. Please consult with your administrator.".

[zhang888 1066]

You should probably never access your bank over a VPN, it will just trigger an unusual activity event and will make the fraud team work extra to figure

out why and if your account was compromised/accessed by an unauthorized 3d party.

Then you might end up with a temporarily locked account until you call them, or physically request new access credentials in some banks.

Same is with Paypal and other many online services.

[serenacat 83]

Don't disagree with Zhang's general advice, but as a matter of convenience and security I have one bank and have used and checked with their phone call centre that they do not trigger on IP geolocation or address range. I also use a Mastercard issued by that bank. I have enabled 2 factor authentication, so some larger or whatever transactions require entry of a "netcode" sent to my mobile phone number by SMS. The 2FA may protect against trigger of other antifraud reactions.

I have also just bought a new Android mobile, and set up a new Google account/identity. Google triggered email alerts to my nominated new gmail and photonmail email accounts, to check activity, and I confirmed okay to their algorithms about 3 times before it has stopped. Google gets my real geolocation in Australia from the mobile, but Air Singapore geolocation from the PC login.

So for some people with simple activities VPN use is not always a problem with some careful checking.

This may vary across nations, Australia has a high rate of tourist and business travel to and from the region, so single geolocation could be a major nuisance, and who trusts hotel/etc wifi. I nearly always use Singapore servers, and SG is not seen as a center for fraud and ecrime, "North Korea with the lights on" is how one expat commented. Their government/police/banks/etc are seen as closely cooperating with similar in Australia, China, India, Japan, USA, etc. One reason for not using Air USA servers is they do seem more often blacklisted, with access banned or extra captchas for blogs, subscriptions, etc.

[virmin 0]

Interesting, my home network's traffic has gone through a VPN for several years with no problem accessing UK banks, PayPal, etc.  Natwest aren't my bank but, my partner was complaining she couldn't get on the site so, I decided to restart the OpenVPN service (I use the OpenVPN client on a Linux server not Eddie) which because I use a general UK config file, it picked up a random UK server to connect to and that cured her immediate issue.

[Valerian 20]

Given that one of the main reasons for using a VPN is greater security, it seems strange to tell people not to use one when accessing their bank.