Hacking? Or a Fastmail bug?

[Grhm]

The procedure for performing certain on-line actions with my bank account involves the bank e-mailing me a code, which I have to type or paste into a field on their web-site.
The last several times I've done this, when I've logged into my Fastmail account to retrieve the code, the e-mail they've sent has already been marked as 'read' before I've opened it.
Is this cause for alarm?

[emoore]

I'd be worried if it was just for messages with security codes. I get security codes sent to my Fastmail account too and have never seen this. Did you check your recent transaction history?

I suggest as a precaution you:

1) Change the bank account password.
2) Double check what email address the account might be configured to send a link to if somebody claimed they lost their password
3) Uninstall the bank app on your smartphone, if you had one.
4) Look at all recent transactions in the bank account to see if there are any that shouldn't be there.
5) Many banks let you configure a email alert if you deposit or withdraw more than a certain amount. Set that up.

and then investigate what could cause it. If you can't figure it out, call your bank.

[Grhm]

Thank you for that speedy advice!
It does indeed only seem to be happening with e-mails that are from my bank and that contain security codes.
I've just changed my bank password, as you suggested.
The procedure for doing that involved the same rigmerole of receiving a code by e-mail... and the e-mail bearing that code was also marked as 'read' before I opened it.
As far as I can tell, the bank only seem to have the one e-mail address for me, and all recent transactions appear fully as expected.
I'm slightly reassured by the thought that if a hacker was resourceful enough to gain access to my Fastmail account and was able to view e-mails sent by my bank, it would be rather strange if they omitted to take the simple precaution of covering their tracks by marking those e-mails "un-read" afterwards...
Or am I being over-simplistic?

EDIT:
Interestingly, after changing my password I received an e-mail from the bank alerting me to the fact that they had "received a request to change some of your security details." Unlike the earlier e-mails, that e-mail was _not_ marked as 'read' before I opened it.

ANOTHER EDIT:
It may be worth mentioning that I don't have a banking app installed anywhere, and that I only ever access my Fastmail account via the webmail interface.

[BritTim]

Odd indeed. The only logical explanation I can think of would be something like a forwarding rule that marks selected emails as read. I would definitely just check my Rules in Fastmail to see if there is a rule that might operate on those bank emails.

[Grhm]

Aha!
You are right!
I had inadvertently ticked the box for "mark as read" on a rule.
Thank you, Sherlock!

[Grhm]

This thread makes me look like a bit of an idiot, I confess!
But it is easy to get paranoid when unexpected things happen in relation to bank accounts and security codes and other sensitive things.
The ability to share ones concerns with e-mail experts on this forum is invaluable.
In this case, the sober common sense and technical knowledge of Brit Tim saved me many sleepless nights (Fastmail have still not responded to my original help ticket!).
So, thank you, Tim, and thank you emaildiscussions.com.
It's a shame that Fastmail no longer officially endorse this forum.
If more people used it, it would undoubtedly save their support staff a great deal of work.

[FredOnline]

It sounds like something from The Famous Five!

Although not an official channel, we do still get visits on the forum from various Fastmail employees, the equivalent of the twitching of the (inter)net curtains!

I think, regardless of the official support channels, people will still find the forum whilst searching for solutions to their e-mail problems.

I'm fairly sure that's how I found the forum myself!

[BritTim]

Originally Posted by Grhm

This thread makes me look like a bit of an idiot, I confess!
But it is easy to get paranoid when unexpected things happen in relation to bank accounts and security codes and other sensitive things.
The ability to share ones concerns with e-mail experts on this forum is invaluable.
In this case, the sober common sense and technical knowledge of Brit Tim saved me many sleepless nights (Fastmail have still not responded to my original help ticket!).
So, thank you, Tim, and thank you emaildiscussions.com.
It's a shame that Fastmail no longer officially endorse this forum.
If more people used it, it would undoubtedly save their support staff a great deal of work.

When it comes to security around bank details, paranoia is healthy. Your fear of a worst case scenario will more often than not prove to be (thankfully) unfounded. However, a failure to react when an account intrusion has really occurred could be disastrous.

The fact that you did not immediately twig the cause on this occasion without suggestions as to possible areas to investigate is not stupidity. You accurately explained the symptoms, and this allowed for a group solution. You did the right thing, and it just so happened that this time it was me who provided a hint allowing you to find and resolve the issue. You still did 90+% of the work in allowing the issue to be diagnosed and resolved. Pat yourself on the back as someone who knows what to do when potentially serious issues appear.

[TenFour]

However, it's unfortunate that FM's customer service response times have become so slow, which along with their inability to solve simple problems for me is one reason I have discontinued my account.

[Berenburger]

Originally Posted by TenFour

However, it's unfortunate that FM's customer service response times have become so slow, which along with their inability to solve simple problems for me is one reason I have discontinued my account.

More than a week ago I filed a ticket at Pobox. No response whatsoever!