[Mr_love_monkey]

But surely online transactions tend to be encrypted, so a base station might be able to record your data - but the chances of them trying to decode it are somewhat remote.

I guess what they could do, is a) offer you a login prompt to join their network, when you think you are joining the proper network - so you give up access passwords ... b) redirect your requests to certain banking sites, to theirs - and grab your info that way.

I guess you just have to be wary whenever you do anything like that, and keep your eye out for urls that seem suspect, like you have to with this phishing lark