Linda: It depends, you can be safe banking and bill paying online if you know how; failing to act appropriately can significantly increase your risks when banking online. Many of the precautions needed here are the same as we've already discussed. Learn to minimize your two risk areas - your personal computing environment, and gaps in your internet safety skills - to use online transaction services safely.
Remove risks in your computing environment. Ask yourself:
Is the computer you are using secure? You must have up-to-date security software, which means antivirus and anti-spyware protection.
Is your connection secure? Make sure the firewall is on. If you use a wireless network, it needs to be encrypted so someone outside the house can't collect your information.
Do you have a secure password? Weak passwords are bypassed in a matter of minutes. You might as well use a strip of scotch tape to lock your front door.
Your biggest threat, once you have secured your computer, is through your own actions online. Cyber-criminals are masters in fooling unsuspecting consumers into exposing themselves to risks. Financial criminals use a thousand ploys, but each ploy has the same key elements. They need to know who you are, where you transact business, and how to access your account(s). So don't give them this information.
Don't assume, require proof. A classic method for swindling is to use what appears to be one piece of information to collect more. For example, a scammer sends out a fake email pretending its from a bank notifying recipients that they need to re-enter their account information. Some percentage of recipients will make one or more of the following assumptions.
That the sender knows them
That the sender knows where they bank
That the sender is the bank
That there is in fact a problem with their account
None of these statements is true. But criminals count on a certain percentage of recipients to assume these inferred connections are true. Those that fall for the assumptions in reality provide the criminal with all three critical pieces of data. By responding, they confirm who they are, where they transact business, and provide their credentials to 'fix' the problem.
Don't misplace trust. Identifying the trustworthiness - or lack of trustworthiness - of the people, email, Websites, content, and businesses you interact with is a critical life skill in any environment - trust the wrong entity and you can loose your life savings.
Steer don't be pulled. Stay in the driver's seat and get to websites on your own by searching, don't be pulled by links that may or may not be legitimate.
Protect personal information. Though it is relatively rare that email is intercepted, never share passwords, social security numbers, credit card information, and the like. What you post online is another potential 'leak-point', protect personal and financial information everywhere.
Learn to spot scams. Don't respond to any e-mail requesting that personal or account information. That "urgent" message may look like it's from your bank, but it's bogus. A financial institution would never send you an e-mail asking for your personal information, PIN or password. Never!
If you do all of the above, you have a reasonably strong chance of having only positive experiences. For the record, I use online banking services.
By Jessica Walker
Until next time, here's to keeping you Safer in the City!
- Jessica
About Jessica Walker~"Safer in the City" columnist I was very excited when asked to write a column for http://www.saferdates.com/ I've been influenced by safety and self-defense pretty much my whole life. While other girls were making macaroni necklaces in Girl Scouts, I was sparring with boys, breaking boards and doing knuckle push-ups on cement in Tae Kwon Do class. Read my column at [http://saferdates.com/blog/] to learn more.
