Over the past few years the growth of internet/online banking has experienced massive advancements. The result is that online banking is here to stay – forever!
Gone are the days of having to physically walk to your nearest bank in order to get a new cheque book issued or order a monthly statement. Now, with just the click of a mouse button from your home computer or laptop you can interact with your bank account instantly.
All you need to do is to log into the official website of your bank and proceed. With the abundance of new bank account choices available for us to choose from, there comes a level of caution that we must adhere to.
Protecting our account with a unique password is the main ingredient in ensuring we are adequately protected online. Make sure you never share or give out this password to anyone. Not even family members. Such information can cause problems later on if they fall into the wrong hands. Make sure you also set a password that isn’t easily remembered – never use something like your date of birth or social security number.
When we switch bank accounts online we must remember to log out each and every time. Sometimes is can be easy to forget that we are still logged into our account and leave it open. This is especially problematic if using a public computer. However, most online banking providers have a timed out security feature built into their system to prevent accidental cases like this from happening.
Users should always use an updated firewall coupled with an anti-virus protection program. These will help prevent unauthenticated users from gaining access to your vital information stored on your computer in the event of a virus infection. Viruses, malware, spyware, trojans and other harmful malicious threats will find it near impossible to penetrate your line of defense if you set it up carefully from the start.
Remember that no bank will ever ask you for your password or other personal identification like credit card/bank card numbers. They will already have this information stored using encrypted software. The sort of emails you may receive asking for these details are referred to as phishing emails. Otherwise known as fake emails, they pretend to take the place of your bank and try to divulge crucial information. Always call your bank if you suspect that you received one of these emails on their behalf.
If you keep vigilant and use common sense and good internet practices, then you’ll never have a problem with your online banking experience.
