For decades you had to go into a bank to complete your transactions. Today, you can do most everything you need to do without stepping into one. Between online banking and now FinTech-fueled mobile apps more people than ever are avoiding the bank. In fact, a study from Bank of America found that 62 percent of people are now using some type of digital banking or financial services. Today, we’re going to give you a few ways you can protect yourself when using mobile banking apps.
Data theft is a big deal, but there are ways that you can protect yourself and your money when utilizing this technology. Some are more involved than others, so let’s dive right in.
#1 - Use Official Banking Apps
This might seem like common sense, but there are products out there that aim to simplify your mobile banking experience. If having your account breached and your money or identity stolen sounds simple, I’m selling a round-trip vacation to Mars. Are you interested? The banks know the importance of data and personal security and have rigorously tested to ensure data is encrypted and secure.
#2 - Use Strong Passwords and MFA
Creating a unique and strong password (or passphrase) is essential to protect any account you have. Financial accounts have a direct line to your money, so using upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols in your password will help secure the account. Furthermore, almost every bank, credit card, or other financial application offers two-factor or multi-factor authentication (or authorization). Utilizing this feature will go further to protect your financial accounts.
#3 - Disable Automatic Login
Another piece of common sense that doesn’t always register with users. If you want to keep people from accessing your bank account, ensuring that any automatic login, authentication autofill feature, or anything of the like is disabled is a solid practice. This will keep people out of your personal information if they happen to be using your account or device.
#4 - Only Use Secure Connections
Not all Wi-Fi networks are the same. Some are open to anyone and can be hotbeds for data theft. To ensure that you aren’t just handing over your financial account information to someone on the same network, be sure to only access financial applications on your mobile device using your mobile data or via a trusted and secure Wi-Fi connection.
#5 - Learn to Spot and Eliminate Phishing Attacks
Today isn’t like five years ago where hackers tried to actually hack into a network. Today, most networks come with strong enough encryption to keep them out for a couple of decades. The biggest threat to data security are phishing attacks. Knowing how to spot a phishing attack and how to proceed so you don’t become a victim of one, is going to be crucial for the foreseeable future.
Following these five suggestions is just the tip of the iceberg. If you want to learn more about FinTech-targeted crime and how to keep your financial and personal data to yourself, call our IT security professionals at NDYNAMICS at 408-927-8700 today.
