Online banking allows customers to access and manage their accounts, pay bills, and transfer money between institutions. While it is generally safe, customers must take precautions such as avoiding phishing scams and using secure devices. Cleaning devices with recommended software can also prevent infections.
Banks now make it possible for customers to do most of their banking online, paying credit cards, utilities, loans, mortgages, and even transferring money between accounts. Customers can save postage, paper, time, and gas, and that’s just a good deal. But with fraud and identity theft on the rise, is online banking really safe? Given a few precautions, the answer is probably yes.
To bank online, a customer first sets up login credentials on the bank’s website. Once logged in, the customer can access all of their accounts at that institution along with any corresponding statements or invoices. With a few mouse clicks, a payment can be made by transferring money from a checking or savings account. The savings or checking account does not need to be in the same institution. The customer provides the bank account number and a bank transfer is initiated between the two institutions.
A secure environment is provided for online banking, denoted by the https at the beginning of the website address. The “s” indicates that the connection between the website and the client’s computer is secured by end-to-end encryption. Data travels between these two points in encryption. If someone were to “steal” information along the way, they would see unreadable gibberish.
However, precautions must be taken to make online banking safe. The first rule is never to click on a banking site through a link in an email. The email may be a phishing scam, leading unsuspecting people to a fake website that looks exactly like the real thing. By setting up a fake banking site, thieves can capture usernames and passwords that customers enter in an effort to log in. The crooks can use these usernames and passwords on the real site to gain access to accounts and financial funds.
Even when you’re sure an email is legitimate, go to a banking site through normal channels as a practice. Also keep in mind that banks do not ask for sensitive information via email. If the email requests any type of response or information, call your bank to verify using a phone book. Please do not use the phone numbers provided in the email.
Secure Online Banking is secure over a wireless network, as the encryption used will prevent your information from being transmitted in readable form. However, it’s a bad idea to bank online from someone else’s computer. A work computer, a friend’s computer, or a public computer may have spyware, rootkits, or keyloggers running. A keylogger records everything that is typed on the keyboard, often transmitting the information to a remote third party that has infected the computer without the owner’s knowledge.
Along these lines, clean your computer with some good scanners before you start banking online. Even if you run an antivirus program that checks for viruses, Trojans, and keyloggers, many of these programs don’t check for rootkits or spyware. Use spyware and rootkit scanners reviewed and recommended by websites like PCWorld, TuCows, ZDNet, and MajorGeeks. Sticking with the tried and true recommended software will ensure that you don’t inadvertently infect your computer while trying to clean it up.
With a clean computer, you’re ready to jump into online banking and experience the ease of paying bills online. Keep usernames and passwords safe, and if you are going to write them down, keep them in a private place. Once you’ve tried online banking, you’ll never look back.
Smart Asset.
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