Don’t Let Online Banking Leave Your Data Vulnerable

 In today’s financially motivated world, financial technology - AKA “fintech” - has allowed people to manage their finances without stepping into a bank. In fact, a Bank of America study found that 62 percent of people now use digital banking. Therefore, it seems prudent to share a few ways to keep yourself safe while using these kinds of mobile apps.

Unfortunately, data theft is far from uncommon, but there are ways that you can manage your online banking without sacrificing your security. Let’s review some of these practices now.

Use Official Applications

I want to offer you your choice of options: on one hand, you have an official banking application that has been tested and secured for your protection, and on the other, you have assorted applications that make things easier (assuming that you find fraud, data theft, and financial damages “easier”). Sticking to the official application that your bank distributes is a much safer option, as the banks will have a much greater respect for your security and will have invested in the encryption and other protections to keep your finances safe.

Use Strong Authentication Measures

While we’ve been known to say this a lot, it doesn’t make the fact that you need a strong password any less true. Considering what your bank account contains, keeping your account as secure as possible with upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols is essential. It is also worth checking if your bank has the option to protect your accounts with multi-factor authentication and embracing the opportunity if it does.

Avoid Automatic Logins

Let’s consider a scenario. You use your phone to access your banking details on a regular basis, so you’ve set it up to automatically log you in once you access the application. Assuming this to be the case, consider what could happen if your phone were stolen. Disabling autofill and autologin can help keep your accounts secure if your device is ever absconded with.

Stick to Trusted Wi-Fi Connections

Unfortunately, Wi-Fi networks can vary wildly in their security, which makes them a hotbed for potential data theft. There are plenty of ways to set up a fraudulent network and steal account information. To be sure you aren’t doing that, make sure you are only using a trusted and secured Wi-Fi connection to access this data, and if you can’t do that, use your mobile data plan.

Know to Spot Attempted Phishing

Cybercrime has evolved past the idea of someone furiously tying lines of code into a keyboard to access someone’s bank account. Now that most networks are secure behind encryption protocols capable of keeping an attack out for at least a few decades, hackers and scammers target a more vulnerable part of the network and go after the user with deceit and trickery. This is what is known as a phishing attack, and so it is important to know how to spot and avoid them.