Empower Network

Online banking is quick, easy and convenient

Gone are the days when the only way you could pay your bills, check your accounts and transfer money was by walking into the bank. The convenience is unarguable, but what about the risks?

Yes there are risks to online banking. If you take the proper precautions, however, the risk level drops and becomes safer than using an ATM.

So how do you protect yourself while banking online?

Here are six essential precautions so that you can enjoy the luxury of online banking without worrying about the safety of your account.

Avoid Public Internet Access

Never log on to your banking accounts while on any public or semi-private internet connection. This includes the WI-FI at your local coffee shop, hotels and resorts, your local library or the airport.

Password Protect Your Internet Access

If you have wireless internet at home or in the office, make sure that you protect it with a password so that it can’t be broken into by unscrupulous people. If your connection is not secure, then anyone who wants to can access it and potentially grab the information that is being transmitted.

It’s similar to the old shared telephone lines. Remember those? You’d pick up and could listen to your neighbors’ conversations? Well, you definitely don’t want that if you’re banking online – or transmitting anything that you would not want public.

Protect Your Passwords

Don’t use your birthday or your kid’s names as your passwords for online banking. That’s a really bad idea. You want to create a password that’s near-impossible to crack and then you want to keep it safe. The safest place if you can do it is in your memory. Of course a secure password has a mix of letters and numbers and is oftentimes difficult to remember.

If you must write your passwords down, keep the information in a safe and secure place. And of course don’t share your passwords with others.

Don’t Trust Email

Highly sensitive information should never be sent in an email. If for some reason you have to share your banking logins then do so over the telephone, not via email.

Don’t Take The Bait

There are many email scams online where thieves will try to get your information by pretending to be your bank or some other company. They put up a fake website and send you an urgent message demanding you click the link in the email and log in to your account immediately. This is a ploy to capture your log in information so they can drain your accounts. Don’t let this happen!

Never (ever) click on links within emails to log in to banking accounts. This includes any brick and mortar bank that you’re using, online only banks, and even (especially) Paypal.com. Instead browse straight to the website by typing in the domain – just as you would type in CNN.com or Yahoo.com into your address bar.

No good banking institutions will ever send you emails with links in them because they know about phishing and they don’t want to confuse you by having you try to figure out when it’s a real (and safe) link and when it’s not.

Keep Up Software, Virus Protection and Firewalls

Make sure you have the best virus protection you can find on your computer and keep it up to date. Another way hackers can get your information is by breaking into your computer and stealing it.

You’ll also want to make sure that you keep your internet browsers and any tools you use to access online accounts (email software, etc) updated.

Now you have some real actions steps that you can take right away to protect yourself while banking online. Of course, banking online will never be 100% guaranteed safe but if you avoid some of these most common dangers, then you’ll be much safer. Happy banking!

PS: Are you a blogger? Are you earning money with your blog yet?