Online Banking and Theft
Over the years, there have been stories that cause some people to reconsider the security of online banking. Banking Web sites are often targeted by the identity thief and other criminals. However, there are procedures you can practice to protect yourself when doing online banking.
As a fundamental best practice you should always have up-to-date antivirus software running on your computer to protect against keyloggers and back door programs that may allow a hacker to ’see’ your account details. (a keylogger is a malicious program that is capable of recording every keystroke you enter on your computer and saves them in a text file) One bank that we contacted said that the firewall/security software is especially important on computers that use a broadband connection to access the Internet (cable modems or DSL) because when your internet connection is on your computer is on and the risk for malicious activity increases.
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We can’t emphasize this basic practice enough. I spoke to one acquaintance about security software and he said and believes that it is not necessary because he only visits reputable and safe sites. He’s only fooling himself. When visiting your bank’s Web site, check to see that the login page and all pages you access afterward are secured with secure sockets layer (SSL) encryption.
You can verify the presence of SSL by looking for the lock icon on your Web browser. (consult your Web browser’s documentation for specific information on the location of the lock icon and other information) Clicking the lock icon on most browsers will give you information about the sites security and this information should match your banks information. Your Web browser may ask you if you want to save the username and password for your online banking site, don’t do it. This particular file is quite often the target of the identity thief because it sometimes contains your user names and passwords for several Web sites that are interesting to these criminals.
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Your passwords for online banking Web sites should be strong by being longer than six characters and contain upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters like ! - % - $ etc. It is best not to use personal information in passwords, like names of your husband, kids or pet, the city of your birth, or your birth date. Take the time to understand your bank’s policies regarding communication and email. Very few banks will send you an email containing a link to follow.
Messages like this are almost always a phishing attack by a criminal. Only go to your bank’s Web site by manually typing the exact address into your browser. In general, any time that you get that feeling of uncertainty, obey it, trust it, it never lies and contact your bank by phone or in person
