It seems that a VPN is nothing more than a novilty now a days

Lounge EndeavourOS pub
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For years I have used a VPN for my online banking, but this last week US Bank has pretty much disabled the ability to use one. They do not come out and say it. I just get a general error,

error
error806×731 38 KB

I can disable my VPN, and remove browser data, and it logs in just fine. Enable the VPN, and I get the error. So what good is a VPN now? Online banking was my reason for one, and now it is not allowed anymore. It’s one step forward, and three steps back. :face_with_symbols_on_mouth: :face_with_symbols_on_mouth:

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Looks like even the banks want to know everything about you, and try to (geo-)fence you in. It really sucks.

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This is the paradox that really irritates me. I’ve encountered a number of services that do this and the reason they give for blocking VPN’s, is their security.

And yet the point of a (decent) VPN is my security. If I have options available to me, my thinking is that if the policies of businessX conflict with my security efforts, I’ll find another business.

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I get this sort of thing all the time. Lazy security. I can usually find a server somewhere that will work so give it a try. A lot of time it is just that the server shows up as being the wrong country.

That being said, I still can’t get Ticketmaster to work with a VPN ;(

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Security Reasons Banks Block VPNs

1. Preventing Fraud & Identity Theft

Banks may block VPNs to avoid:

  • Account takeovers using stolen credentials
  • Credit card fraud from masked or foreign IP addresses
  • Anonymous logins that bypass location-based risk checks

2. Geo-based Access Control

Many banks require access from specific countries or regions to:

  • Prevent location spoofing during sensitive transactions
  • Detect suspicious access patterns (e.g., logging in from two countries in minutes)

3. Enhancing Risk-Based Authentication

Blocking VPNs helps banks:

  • Build accurate risk profiles based on user behavior
  • Trigger additional verification when something seems off
  • Avoid letting attackers hide behind shared IPs or datacenter IPs

is not Lazy security. it prevents attackers to get into your account

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If a bank requires 2FA like mine than none of these reasons hold up.
2FA=you passed the test.
Seems VPN would be inconsequential (for the banks that require 2FA that is).
Tangential, I confess.

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I understand that these are the reasons typically given to justify blocking VPN’s and such.

The mechanisms are hardly robust though. For example, most times, I can cycle my VPN endpoint several times, and it eventually starts to work. In other instances I’ve switched over to a TOR connection, and it works. It’s a pain for me as a legitimate user to have to do that, but if I were an attacker, that’s hardly a deterrent.

Accessing a website from a geolocation that appears legitimate, would be a trivial thing for a real threat.

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I guess you’re going back to the counter. I for one won’t bank without a VPN for sure.