Online banking has made managing finances much more convenient these days. With just a few taps on a phone or clicks on a computer, one can pay bills, transfer money, check account balances, and more. However, this great convenience also comes with significant risks. Fraudsters and hackers constantly seek opportunities to steal money and personal information.
Thankfully, some simple yet effective steps can be taken to keep one’s money, identity, and accounts safe while banking online. This article outlines 7 of the most crucial online security practices everyone should follow for safer digital transactions and peace of mind.
Step 1: Use Strong and Unique Passwords
Passwords are the key when it comes to internet banking registration. It protects access to bank accounts. Using weak passwords like “123456” or reusing the same password across different accounts makes it easy for cybercriminals to hack into finances. Every online account should have a strong, unique password that is at least 12 characters long and combines uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols.
Step 2: Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Two-factor authentication is one of the most important online security measures that should be enabled. When logging into an account with 2FA activated, two credentials must be provided – the password as the first factor and a one-time code as the second factor.
Step 3: Keep Your Devices Secure
Cyber thieves are smart. If they can’t steal your passwords directly, they will try accessing your online accounts by compromising your banking devices – phones, laptops, tablets, and computers. That’s why you must follow cyber hygiene best practices.
Keep all operating systems, software programs, and apps fully updated. Updates contain vital security patches that fix vulnerabilities hackers exploit to infiltrate devices. Install reputed antivirus software to guard against malware and ransomware infections designed to steal financial information. Do not jailbreak phones or root devices, as it disables default security features.
Step 4: Beware of Phishing Scams
Phishing is amongst the most common tactics fraudsters deploy to obtain private financial data and account credentials. Through compelling spoof emails, texts, calls or fake website ads, phishers impersonate legitimate banks and businesses to fool you into sharing sensitive information or downloading malware.
Step 5: Monitor Your Accounts Regularly
Cybersecurity begins and ends with vigilance. Taking the right precautions for safe online banking won’t help if you don’t regularly monitor accounts for unauthorised activity, such as fraudulent transactions, stolen funds, or data breaches.
Log into your various banking and financial accounts frequently, at least 2-3 times a week if not daily. Carefully review transaction reporting for any debits or withdrawals you don’t recall making. Being quick to spot and report problems prevents criminals from siphoning large sums over time.
Step 6: Avoid Public Wi-Fi for Banking Transactions
Public Wi-Fi networks at airports, cafes, hotels, stores, or other crowded places are very risky for online transactions or accessing sensitive accounts. The free public connections rarely have encryption or security controls, making it child’s play for hackers nearby to view all network data, including your financial logins, bank account numbers, shopping payment details, and personal information.
If you must use an open public connection, avoid accessing accounts or typing passwords. Limit usage to simply reviewing balances, statements or transaction reporting.
Step 7: Log Out After Transactions
Don’t leave your bank website or app logged in unnecessarily, especially on public devices. Always properly log out after completing whatever financial tasks brought you online. Logging out actively invalidates your browser session, making it harder for anyone with device access to check account details and balances or conduct transfers and payments without valid login credentials.
Simply shutting down does not necessarily terminate active online sessions, which criminals can easily reopen and exploit if device access is left unattended. Taking 10 seconds to click ‘Log Out’ goes a long way in thwarting unauthorised account access
Conclusion
Online banking conveniences and benefits come with the risk of growing cyber threats looming over all financial data and transactions today. However, diligently safeguarding information and money is much easier than recovering lost funds or repairing compromised identity. By consistently applying the seven common practices outlined above, anyone can transact digitally with minimised exposure.
