Online banking is convenient and nice. However, it comes with its share of risks. You have properly heard about people being conned at ATMs or having their credit cards cloned; the same vulnerability happens with online accounts. The following are some of the tips to help you minimize risks to your money and bank safely online.
An account with Two Factor Authentication
Ensure you get a bank account that provides some form of two-factor authentication for internet banking. Nowadays, most banks provide a small device that you can use to generate unique codes every time you log into your account. The codes are only valid for a few minutes and are needed in addition to the login credentials to get access to your online account.
Create Strong Password
If your bank needs a strong user-generated password to access your online accounts, ensure you choose one that is quite strong. You can achieve this by making the password long, and it should contain a mix of upper, lower case letters, special characters, and numbers. You should avoid using common phrases or words and do not create a password that contains your initials, name, or date of birth. If your bank can allow, be free to change the password every month.
Secure Your Computer
Having a security camera is quite important, regardless of what your computer is being used for. Ensure you have a firewall that is turned on and has antivirus software. That ensures you are protected from keyloggers, Trojans, and other forms of malware that can be used to get access to the financial data. Moreover, you will want to keep the operating system and other apps you have up-to-date.
Avoid Clicking Through Emails
As you know, there is no banking institution that will send you emails asking you to provide your login details. If you get an email that appears to come from a bank and ask for such details, then you have a right to treat it with suspicion. That is because it can be a phishing attempt that tricks you into providing your credentials over.
Also, you ought to be aware of links in emails that seem to come from your bank. The trick is often employed by bad guys who want to get you to a site that looks like your bank. When you log in, they will steal your username and password. It is advisable to access your bank account by typing the address of the bank to the browser directly.