How To Use Online Banking Safely

How To Use Online Banking Safely

     Online banking is an extremely convenient way to check balances, pay bills and transfer funds between accounts. This convenience, however, also makes it quite convenient for thieves to steal your information, login to your accounts and do some unwanted transferring themselves. How do you enjoy the benefits of online banking, while protecting your accounts and money they contain? Here are some top tips.

Use different passwords for every different account

     This can seem to be difficult to keep track of, but can be made easier by using variants of the same basic password. One easy way to do this is by using several words made into a phrase you can remember, and then tweaking it. For example, you can start with a phrase such as “Random Daisies Relax”. Remove the spaces, and substitute some letters for special characters, so you might have something like “R@ndomD@isiesRel@x.” Then, simply add an identifier or name of the bank to the end, so for a Citibank account you might use “R@ndomD@isiesRel@xCiti” or “R@ndomD@isiesRel@xMainAccount.”

     The above produces a very strong password, difficult to crack through brute-force methods, while being easy to remember, compared with something like “Rhjd^567#!dhjUkx.”Also, if a hacker discovers one password, they do not automatically have access to all of your bank accounts.

Never click through to your bank directly from an email

     Often, phishing scams will produce emails that seem authentic, with your bank’s logo, color scheme and official-looking language. They often say that there is an important issue requiring immediate attention, and that you must click a link to log in and resolve the matter. Rather than click through, simply open up another tab on your web browser, and go to your bank’s website to verify the matter by typing in the URL, rather than clicking on the email link.

     In the first place, it is highly unlikely that a bank will legitimately send a notice about an important issue through email. Most likely, they will send it via the postal service. Second, by going straight to the bank’s website in a browser, you avoid any malicious redirections or fake web forms linked to from the email, which simply capture your login credentials so that thieves can steal your money.

Ensure you are on a bonafide site

     When on your banking site, make sure you have not inadvertently typed in a wrong address, such as BankoAmerica.com instead of BankofAmerica.com. The former actually does take you to the real Bank of America website, but better safe than sorry. Ways to tell that you are on the proper site include:

• The URL begins with “https” rather than “http”.

• When logged in, there is a padlock symbol in the bottom toolbar or other visual indication that the data is being encrypted.

• The “About Us” and “Contact” pages are all present and have legitimate information and none result in “404 Page Not Found” errors.

     One last tip is to make sure your antivirus program is up to date, as many now recognize malicious URLs and IP addresses and will warn you if you attempt to visit them.

     Online banking can be safe with some common sense actions, but it is best to stay up to date by reading sites like this one to keep abreast of new threats.