Banks, credit unions and financial institutions spend a great deal of time and money to ensure your safety while banking online. That being said, fraudsters can also spend a lot of time and money trying to hack into these systems. I’ve felt safe enough with online banking, something I’ve been doing over the past 8 years or more because I’m hooked on the convenience. I avoid phishing scams by ignoring any unsolicited emails that claim to be from my bank (usually they are from a bank I’ve never heard of), and am completely paranoid about releasing any sensitive financial information online. I am also careful where I click. Is it enough?
According to a recent article on MSN Finance, we also need to be careful of accidentally releasing a virus or other malevolent software, like the one known as Sinowal Trojan. This is a program that injects what seem like legitimate pages on someone’s browser, then steals the user’s log-in credentials. According to a study published by California’s RSA Fraudaction Research Lab, it compromised over 300,000 online bank accounts and about 250,000 credit and debit card accounts over the past three years.
Online banking is considered safe, but you should take steps to protect yourself from fraudsters who may be trying to steal your identity while you’re banking online. The MSN article quotes, ‘”When you’re online, even though you have a lot of risks, you’re more in control because you can do something about the risk — you can monitor your accounts, and you can say no to the malicious junk,” Javelin President James Van Dyke said. “In the old-fashioned world, such as the paper and mail world, you can’t do much to keep prying eyes from looking at those paper cheques and paper statements.” Anything, however, is suspect once you’ve been a victim. Nothing is perfect.
Avoid Being a Victim
Taking steps to protect yourself from identity theft are not difficult, and there are plenty of tips as well as support you can get from your financial institution. Here are ideas from eBillme that will make a big difference.
* Protect your online banking information (don’t share your login and password with anyone, even another service provider!)
* Be sure that you are visiting a legitimate website by carefully checking the URL and matching it up with the real site character by character for the domain name
* Only login directly to your online banking web site (don’t follow links to it)
* Be sure to log off the online bank site when you are finished
* Install a firewall
* Install anti-virus software and keep it up to date
* Learn how to spot a phishing email and what to do if you find one
For more information on banking online safely, see GetSafeOnline.org. For more information, see these tips from eBillme on protecting your identity.
