Increasing security when banking online
March 6, 2008
Over the past decade we have started to conduct more and more of our business online. From booking holidays and applying for finance to arranging insurance to finding the best deals on utilities, the Internet has become an invaluable tool for most households. Over the past few years an increasingly number of people have also eliminated the need to keep going to their bank, and this is because they conduct most or all of their banking transactions online.
Gone are the days of having to rush to the bank in your lunch hour and join a queue that is so long it is out of the door. Also gone are the days when you had to try and find a spare minute to call the bank whilst the lines were still open in order to check something, make a payment, or conduct some other transaction. Thanks to the availability of Internet banking millions of consumers can now conduct their banking business from the comfort and privacy of their own home, without having to even speak to anyone from the bank.
A wide range of leading banks now offer online banking facilities to consumers, and there are some banks that operate online only. Being able to bank online saves consumers a great deal of time, hassle, and inconvenience, effectively giving them more control over the finances and enabling them to deal with their accounts at any time of the day or night, and from the comfort and privacy of their own home.
Increasingly sophisticated security software has even convinced many of those that were initially worried about using online banking that this has become a safe and secure method of banking. However, in order to ensure the safety of your data and account it is important that you, as the accountholder, also exercise caution and responsibility, as even with all of this security in place there are fraudsters that can easily fool banking customers into giving away their bank details without thinking twice.
One way of making it more secure to bank online is to make sure that you do not give out your password and login details to anyone, which is basic common sense but you would be surprised how details such as these can be tricked out of you. Also, do not save these details on your computer – it takes seconds to enter them each time you want to access your account, and could ultimately save you a lot of hassle and stress, and even money.
Another way of ensuring your security is to only access your account by entering the bank website address into the search engine, and never through an email link. Emails that are seemingly from your bank are usually fraudulent scams, and although you may think that you are linking to your bank’s website and entering your bank and security details you are actually just handing them straight over to the fraudsters, who can then use them to access your account and conduct transactions.
- Are packaged current accounts worth the money?
- Bank of England tries to balance concerns over rising inflation and slowing economy
- Will banks start charging for current accounts?
- Are price comparison sites all they are cracked up to be?
Related Articles
- Customers continue to enjoy online banking Research has shown that since online banking took off around a decade ago, this method of banking has continued to go from strength to strength,
- Online banking popular with older people Online banking has become hugely popular amongst consumers in the UK over recent years, and according to a recent report this method of banking is
- Consumers want convenience over troublesome safety procedures when shopping online Recent research that has been carried out by the Abbey has shown that when it comes to the prevention of online plastic card fraud, or
- Banks using baffling security measures to protect consumers Many consumers are nervous about using their credit and debit cards online in order to make purchases in case they become the victim of fraud,
- Online shoppers are looking for convenience rather than long winded security measures A recent report has shown that many online shoppers are more concerned about making quick and easy online transactions with their credit and debit cards
Comments
Got something to say?