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What the M&S cyber attack means for your account security

The breach that shook the high street

When news broke of the M&S cyber attack in April 2025, the reaction from the public was swift. Panic buying, frozen tills, broken contactless payments, and customers being turned away were just the surface-level disruptions. Behind the scenes, the real damage was even more alarming.

As reported by several news outlets, this wasn’t about high-tech code or clever malware. It was something far more basic and, worryingly, far more effective.

According to public reports, attackers may have gained access by pretending to be IT support staff and convincing employees to reset internal passwords. This allegedly gave them access to critical systems, affecting operations at M&S and other high street retailers like Harrods and Co-op.


What happens when trust becomes a vulnerability

Most people still think of hacking as something that targets firewalls or software. But increasingly, it’s people who are being targeted. As covered by multiple sources, the M&S incident appears to have involved impersonation, not infiltration.

This technique is called social engineering. It’s when someone pretends to be trustworthy to get access to something they shouldn’t. It’s cheap, easy, and surprisingly effective. A believable phone call or fake email can do more damage than brute-force hacking ever could.

And this isn’t just a big-business problem. If it can reportedly happen to a major company with full-time security teams and staff training, it can happen to everyday users who don’t have those defences in place.

If you’ve got a digital financial account, especially one that stores real-world value like a TallyMoney account based on physical gold, this is your wake-up call. The system isn’t invincible. It’s time to take a closer look at where your money truly feels secure.

Digital threats are getting personal

Attacks are becoming more targeted because people are often the easiest way in. Criminals are posing as banks, tech support, even friends and family. One slip-up, a clicked link, a shared password, a read-out code, can lead to your money, your identity, and your account being taken.

The M&S cyber attack highlights just how fragile traditional systems can be. But more than that, it shows that relying on passwords and centralised access isn’t good enough anymore.

Where you store your money matters. TallyMoney turns your balance into physical gold that you own. It’s not held as fiat, it’s not being loaned out, and it’s not tied to traditional banks. That gives you a strong foundation – but your login habits are still the frontline.

Account Protection Begins With Behaviour

While the M&S breach reportedly involved verification failures, it showed how vulnerable even the best systems can be when users aren’t cautious.

No amount of encryption can protect your money if you hand out access codes over the phone. This isn’t a hypothetical risk – it’s happening.

If you’re using TallyMoney, here are five simple steps you should take to protect your gold-based account.

How to Stay Secure:

1. Use Strong, Unique Passwords for Every Account

Using the same password for everything is like giving someone the keys to your house and car in one go. If one platform is compromised, everything is at risk. Use a password manager and don’t use anything guessable. That includes your dog’s name plus “123”.

2. Turn On Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

This is your safety net. If someone gets your password, 2FA adds a second lock. It could be a fingerprint, a face scan or a code sent to your phone. TallyMoney supports biometric login through the app. Once it’s set up, it becomes second nature.

3. Don’t Share Info – Even If The Caller Seems Legit

If someone phones you, says they’re from TallyMoney, and asks for your PIN or a code you’ve just received, hang up. We will never ask for that. Always go to the app yourself and use the official support route. If it’s really us, we’ll already know who you are.

4. Avoid Public WiFi for Sensitive Logins

Using free WiFi in cafés or train stations might feel handy, but it’s a risk. If you’re logging in to TallyMoney or any financial service, switch to mobile data or wait until you’re on a trusted connection.

5. Monitor Your Account Like You’d Watch a Watchlist Stock

Check your account regularly. Set up app alerts, review your login history, and scan through recent transactions. If something doesn’t look right – or if your card goes missing – freeze it immediately using the app. Don’t wait. It’s a non-negotiable step if anything seems off.


Final Thought: Don’t Wait Until You’re Next

The M&S cyber attack isn’t just another headline. It’s a warning – not about tech, but about trust. Based on public reports, the breach didn’t involve cracking systems. It started with a phone call and a misplaced moment of confidence.

If you’re already using TallyMoney, you’ve made a smart move by moving away from traditional banking and towards physical, gold-based value. But that’s just one part of staying secure.

Update your passwords. Use biometrics. Be suspicious when someone unexpected reaches out. TallyMoney platform is designed with your safety in mind, but it still needs you to play your part.

Your savings deserve more than hope. They deserve tangible protection and a security setup that actually keeps pace with modern threats. Tally gives you that. But you’re the one holding the front door key.

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Real World Examples

  1. Fancy a coffee? Use your TallyMoney Mastercard. Boom – paid. (Yes, you’re buying a flat white with gold. How amazing is that?)

  2. Need cash? Use any Mastercard ATM worldwide or spend across the globe. ZERO fees from us, ZERO markup. (When you spend or withdraw, your gold converts instantly at the global spot price. No catches, no hidden charges – just straight-up Mastercard exchange rates. Because your money shouldn’t cost you… more money.)

  3. Want some money back in your bank? Just tap ‘transfer’ in the app. (Though after a while, you might wonder why you’d want to…)

    Zero faff. Zero waiting. Zero fees when you spend tally.

Meet Cameron Parry

Meet the guy who wouldn’t accept being trapped in a ‘heads they win, tales we lose’ government-run monetary system that protects and benefits the financial institutions, to the detriment of the public. Where people’s deposits are constantly at risk, and losing value through inflation caused by central bankers and politicians.

If necessity is the mother of invention, then frustration may be the roommate’s cousin of motivation. In any case, he decided to stop getting mad and start a new monetary system with sound money. Where deposits serve the depositor, where savings build wealth for savers, and transactions are made in a familiar way. And he called it TallyMoney.

TallyMoney: Gold upgraded

With TallyMoney:

  • Your pounds instantly become physical gold (1 tally = 1mg of real gold)
    Stored in Swiss vaults (not under your bed)
  • Fully insured and allocated (actually yours, not a paper promise)
  • Spend it anywhere with your TallyMoney debit Mastercard
  • Transfer back to pounds instantly if needed (but why would you?)

We’re not anti-bank because it’s trendy. We’re anti-bank because the current system is rigged against you. Every day you leave money in a “savings” account, you’re funding their profits while your wealth evaporates.

Enter gold: the original currency

Why gold? It’s value is universally acknowledged.

  • It’s not controlled by any single government
  • It can’t be printed or manufactured
  • It’s actually scarce 
  • It requires effort to extract it 
  • It doesn’t rust, decay, or disappear
  • It has remarkable properties

So while the pound’s lost 50% of its value since 2004, gold’s grown by 146% in the last decade alone. While your bank savings got mugged by inflation, gold owners were laughing all the way to… well, not the bank.

But here’s the rub: Traditional gold ownership is a right pain. Buy physical bars? Prepare for storage fees that’ll make your eyes water, insurance premiums that never end, and a 5-10% haircut when you need to sell. Plus, try buying your weekly shop with a gold ingot.
Paper gold ETFs? They’re classed as Tier 3 assets for a reason – that’s financial speak for “risky as hell.” You don’t own gold, you own a promise. A tradeable IOU. And when everyone wants their gold at once? Good luck with that. So you’re stuffed either way: real gold that’s impossible to use, or fake gold that might not be there when you need it.
Until now.

The truth about inflation

How? Well, when politicians overspend (and they invariably do), they need more money to ‘stimulate the economy’. But raising taxes makes voters angry. So what do they do? They fire up the money printer, and boy do they love to print. To give you a sense of the scale, since 2015 the Bank of England has created £520bn out of thin air through “quantitative easing” (electronic money printing) plus £86bn in physical currency. 

Thing is, more pounds in circulation = each pound is worth less. Think about it: In 2004, £100 could buy you a decent night out, theatre tickets, and a cab home. Today? That same £100 barely covers the theatre tickets. Your money didn’t disappear – it was diluted, like someone’s been topping up your whisky with water when you weren’t looking.

The “2% inflation target” they bang on about? That’s them telling you they plan to steal 2% of your wealth every single year. And calling it healthy.

How TallyMoney actually works?

  1. First things first: we’ve got actual gold bullion* (none of that paper-promise nonsense) locked up tight in a Brinks vault in Switzerland. Yeah, those Brinks – the security legends who’ve been protecting valuables since Queen Victoria was on the throne.

  2. You send your pounds to your TallyMoney account (bye-bye, inflation-addicted fiat!).

  3. We use the global gold spot price to instantly turn your currency into its weight in gold. No hidden or fuzzy exchange rates, just the real market gold price + 1.49% gold purchase fee.

  4. Each milligram of your physical gold = 1 tally (we keep it decimal because no one wants to faff about with troy ounces – the specific unit for measuring gold).

  5. That’s it! Your app shows your balance in tally, but remember – those aren’t just numbers on a screen. That’s your solid gold, in milligrams, sitting pretty in Switzerland.
  6. You can now save and spend your gold as you see fit.

*All Tally gold is sourced from LBMA-accredited providers because we’re rebels with a cause… and standards. Instead of tracking the gold price per kg, your money is directly converted based on the real-time global gold spot price.

TallyMoney is 
real money

  1. Store of value
    Your gold sits in a Swiss vault (not getting ‘quantitatively eased’ away)
    Evidenced by 5,000 years of holding its value
    Can’t be inflated by government whim and fingers on the ‘currency print’ button
  2. Medium of exchange
    Spendable at 150+ million shops worldwide (thanks, Mastercard)
    Currency converts instantly at market rates (no sneaky margins)
    Moves as quickly as sending a text 
  3. Unit of account
    1 tally = 1mg of gold. Simple
    Stable enough to actually plan your future with
    Speaks every currency’s language (gold’s kind of a big deal everywhere)

This is why TallyMoney is so much more than just owning Gold – it’s a real financial revolution. We’re not just helping you own gold; we’re bringing back what money was always meant to be. Sound Money for a Brighter Future. Because your hard work and wealth deserve better than being slowly robbed by external forces.

We want you to have real money

  1. A store of value:
    Keeps its value over time
    Insulated from devaluation/inflation
    Actually rare and can’t be created out of thin air
  2. Medium of exchange:
    Easy to use for everyday transactions
    Widely accepted
    Can be transferred efficiently
  3. Unit of account:
    Works like a proper value-measuring stick (imagine if your ruler shrunk every year – mad, right?)
    Splits nicely into useful bits
    Reliable enough to plan your future with

Why does this matter? Because your hard work deserves better than being turned into monopoly money by someone else’s actions. Every time your currency loses value (inflation) its stealing from your past work, which harms your present savings, and your future dreams.