Steps to Take to Protect Your Financial Information

Eighty percent of American households now bank online, which makes it an especially appealing target to cybercriminals.

In the last issue of Shortliner, we told you what security measures to look for in a bank. In this issue, we share more suggestions from malwarebytes.com. The online security company offers these precautions for understanding what’s normal communication from your bank, what’s suspicious, and what you can do to ward off attacks.

Beware of phishing emails and texts. Keep a sharp eye on email and text communications from your bank. Unless you are certain of its origin, avoid clicking through links, especially if they ask for login or other personal identification information.

Report suspicious activity right away. Seth Goldstein, an information systems security professional, recommends customers follow their account activity in order to quickly identify and report abuse. “It’s much easier for banks to research and take action on recent transactions, and it gives you the best leverage to recover any losses.”

Make sure you download the official app of your bank. Whether you download from Google Play or the App Store, check reviews, read summaries, and check where the app comes from.

If possible, don’t use a public computer and/or public wifi for banking. If you don’t have private internet access, make sure you sign out of your account before closing the browser. And if you’re sitting at a café working on your blog, that’s not the best time to catch up on your bill-paying. Public wifi is much easier to breach than your password-protected connection.

Use a computer just for bills. We suggest an older laptop
dedicated only to financial transactions. It helps limit the potential for infection and breach. That means online banking and bill-paying only. No checking email. No surfing the web. No social media. Start up, check accounts, and shut down.

Customize online banking transactions. Take a look at the administrative controls of your online banking accounts. Some banks let you limit online transaction capabilities, like international wire transfer. The less you do online (without completely hindering the convenience of online banking), the safer your money is.

Layer your security. The more the merrier. Firewall and antivirus can stop known threats, while anti-malware and anti-exploit cover advanced threats like malvertising and ransomware. And to protect against those malicious mobile banking apps, consider an anti-malware program for your phone.

For the safest online banking experience, it’s best to live by two credos. One is to know thyself. By keeping an eye on your online accounts and credit score, you can stay on top of abuse.

The second is to know thy adversary. “Your bank doesn’t ask you to confirm account details via email or call you for personal information,” says Goldstein. “There is no urgent matter that requires verifying your responses to ‘secret’ questions or sharing the CVV code on the back of the card to prove your identity.”

Simply put: If you are asked to share account details in any way, don’t. And if you want to pay it forward, notify your bank’s call center when you receive these suspicious communications. You just might help to protect the next online banker, too.  Source: malwarebytes.com