With today’s technology, banking has never been so easy. In the past, we had to gather our documents in an envelope, drive for a few kilometers, and wait in line for a couple of hours just to deposit money that didn’t even take a few minutes. It’s such a big hassle that many people immediately jumped onto the bandwagon when online banking was introduced. You can’t blame them, though, as online banking is much faster and more convenient. Online banking is certainly much more convenient nowadays, for example, if you want to apply for personal loans for bad credit. However, it doesn’t come without its share of dangers. Your identity and bank account are always at risk of getting stolen. But of course, such scams are rare nowadays, and they especially target people new to online banking. If you’re one of them, you might be interested in some online banking security tips.

Choose Strong and Unique Passwords

You are your first line of defense in online safety. Hackers have software that can guess your password by trying out every possible combination of letters, numbers, and symbols and trying them out to open your account. That said, having a good combination of numbers, letters, and symbols will take time for the software to guess your password. However, some people commit mistakes that make it easier for these hackers to guess your passwords. For example:

• Using personal information such as an address, date of birth, or name
• Relying on common words or passwords like QWERTY123
• Choosing very short words or lines of numbers
• Not updating your passwords frequently
• And using the same passwords for all of your accounts

Change Your Passwords Frequently

We get it; remembering new passwords is very irritating if you’re changing them frequently. However, it’s one of the most effective ways of protecting your bank accounts. You probably think it’s already bad enough that you must memorize numbers, letters, and symbols and change them now and then. If you’re tired of memorizing your new passwords, you can use a password manager to make your life easier. Password managers are safe and secure, but you have to create a password for them too. And no, you can’t use messaging apps and other insecure chat boxes or notepads, as they won’t be able to secure your data. For example, if your phone got stolen and it’s not locked, they can look at your notepads and see the passwords for themselves.

Don’t Ever Use Public WiFi

For the most part, accessing social media sites and video-sharing platforms is safe on public WiFi. It’s especially true if you’re using a VPN or browsing anonymously in incognito mode. However, it doesn’t change the fact that using public WiFi is very dangerous. It’s home to hackers looking to hack your accounts by using several software that can copy your personal information from your device, including passwords and other login information. Examples of these risks are:

• Malware and Spyware
• Data transmission over unencrypted networks
• Malicious hotspots
• And Man-in-the-Middle attacks

Unless you don’t have any choice, avoid using public WiFi, especially when trying to access your bank accounts. It might be safe at first, but the next time you access it, you won’t be able to, or worse, there will be nothing left of your money in your bank account.

• Disable Public File Sharing: If you don’t know what it is, public file sharing allows users to share files or folders by posting a link. It’s very risky to click these links. Unless you’re in a secure network, you should turn this feature off in your settings.
• Use a VPN: A VPN creates a private network only you can access. There are a lot of free VPN services online, but if you can afford to pay for one, consider subscribing to it.
• Stick with Secure Sites: Look for “https” in the URL of a site. If there is one and a lock symbol, it means it’s safe. If you can’t find them and part of the URL is red, then steer clear away from that site.

Never Give Your Login Information to Anyone

If you suddenly get an email or a text message from an entity that asks for your login information, you should not click the link that came with the message. There’s a 100% chance that it’s a phishing scam. A phishing scam is a common identity theft scam that harvests your login information for hackers to be able to access your bank accounts. Remember that no one, even your bank, will ask for your username and password.

Final Words

You are your first line of defense when it comes to online banking. Even though scams and hackers are rare to find online these days, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist. You should never be complacent regarding the safety of your online banking.