Online banking fraud is a worldwide problem that has been rising steeply as hackers find new and clever ways to con us out of our hard-earned money. In order to protect ourself, there are more things to think about than simply changing password.
Protect yourself against online banking fraud:
- Never login to your bank website through a link in an email, even if the email appears to have come from your bank. Type the web address into your browser yourself.
- The login pages of bank websites are secured through an encryption process, so a locked padlock or unbroken key symbol should appear in your browser window when accessing your bank site.
- The beginning of your bank’s Internet address will change from ‘http’ to ‘https’ when a secure connection is made.
- Be wary of any unexpected or suspicious looking pop-ups that appear during your online banking session.
- Stop and think about the process you normally go through to make a payment to someone – be suspicious if it differs from the last time you used it.
- Fraudsters sometimes try to trick people into making a real payment by claiming “it’s just a test”.
- Never give anyone your login details in full either by email or over the phone – your bank will never request these in this way.
- Check the online banking security options your bank provides; some offer free anti-virus and browser security software.
- Check your bank statements regularly and contact your bank immediately if you spot any transactions that you didn’t authorize.
- When sending money via your online bank account, always double check the amount you are sending as well as the account number and sort code you are sending it to.
- Make sure your bank has your up-to-date contact details.
- Browsers often come with security features built in. Make sure they are activated.
- If your bank does have a SMS confirmation system, make sure you use it to get notified of all transactions and login activities concerning your bank account.
- Identify and delete hoax emails that contains links and other offers.
- Delete spam or check if your Internet service provider offers a spam filtering service.
- Switch on your browser’s phishing filter, if it has one.
- Always access your bank’s official website, watch for any changes in the URL and always type the address into the URL bar instead of the search bar.
- Never disclose access codes and personal information to anyone, even family.
- Check your last sign in date and time whenever you sign in to Online Banking to make sure it appears correct and report any abnormalities directly to your bank.
- Regularly check your account statements for anything suspicious.
