Nowadays, there are a lot of scams aiming at users of the online banking facility. There are several services which offer protection from identity thieves such as LifeLock. However, many identity thieves don't want to simply steal your identity information. They don't want to just take advantage of the good credit history by stealing your checking account. Instead, they want to steal your money. Many banks have take precautions on these cyber criminals by offering various types of online protection services. As an end-user, you have the most responsibility to protect your financial information. You must not solely rely on the bank to protect your financial information. You must take the initiative to look out for fraudsters on the internet. There are two common types of online frauds including keylogging and phishing. Phishing involves installing malware onto the computer while keylogging uses software to capture the keystroke you type onto the keyboard. Both methods will steal the login credentials of the end-user.
Keylogger software, also known as Trojan software is designed to be automatically installed in the user's computer through a virus. Keylogging software is dangerous because the fraudster will know every single word you type into the fields of the online banking login form. With the keylogging software, they can steal all your personal information such as account number, user ID, password and etc. To avoid becoming the victim of keylogging software, you can install the antivirus software on your computer. The antivirus software can detect and inform you about the Trojan software that is operating in the background. Once you detect the antivirus software, you can delete it. There are both free and commercial versions of the keylogger software. The commercial version of the keylogger software is better because it is equipped with a full range of features. You should constantly update your security patch.
In phishing, the internet fraudsters will attempt to request for personal information through email. Usually, the email will state the intention on doing business. The email will look as if it is from an important organization. The email will have similar appearance as the organization's email. The email will ask you to click on a link that redirect you to the login form and update the personal information in the online banking account. Normally, the link will lead to a different website that looks exactly like the bank website. No matter what email you receives, be sure not to click on the link in the email. If you click on the link in the email and type in your login information, they will be able to track your identity information. They can use the login information to access your online banking account. You must pay attention to the URL of the link. Some financial institutions will use watermarks. If you don't see the watermark at the login page, it is advised that you don't login. If you receive a phishing email, you must report it to your financial institution.
If you are not sure whether the request is valid, you can manually type in the web address of the URL listed in the phishing email. To protect yourself from online fraud, you must change the password frequently. You should change the password to your banking account every 6 months. You should never reveal the ID or password to your online banking account. You should not reveal the login credentials to other people. It is important that you only sign up with a financial institution that provides two factor authentications. When accessing the online banking account via a wireless network, you must make sure it is secure.
About the Author: Billy Horner, is a professional writer for the financial industry. Permission to reprint this article is granted if the article is reproduced in its entirety, without modification, including all information. Please include a hyperlink to: Banco Trasatlantico which provides offshore banking and banking blog.
