Internet Banking: Keeping Your Money Safe
Make sure you online banking is secure by taking a few simple precautions:
- Be wary of opening unexpected e-mails with attachments and never click on a hyperlink in a suspicious e-mail. Do not visit suspicious websites. Only download software from trusted sources.
- Do not disclose your personal information online unless the site is both trustworthy and reputable.
- Check the website's privacy policy statement before providing personal data to the website.
- Change your online passwords regularly.
- Limit the number of people who can use your computer and set your own password for your computer if it has this facility.
- Install personal firewall
software, antivirus and anti-spyware software (AVG
Internet Security offers protection against computer viruses, trojan horses,
worms, hackers, spam, spyware, and other forms of random, malicious programs). Regularly download updates to your antivirus
and anti-spyware software, operating system and Internet browser.
- Always disconnect from the Internet when not using it.
- Do not conduct transactions online unless the website is both trustworthy and reputable.
- Select personal identifiers (eg. user ID/password) that are easy to remember but difficult to guess - do not use your birthday, telephone number, names of family members or common names (such as girls' or boys' names and cartoon characters' names).
- Do not disclose your password to anyone (including bank staff and the Police) and do not record it anywhere.
- Do not use your Internet banking user ID or password for other online services (eg. email, Internet access).
- Never use links in emails or Internet search engines to log on to Internet banking. Always type the address into your browser or bookmark the genuine website and use that to access your bank account.
- Close all browser windows before logging on to Internet banking to protect your financial information from unauthorised access from another website.
- Disable your browser's 'AutoComplete' function. On some browsers, this function remembers the data you input. Refer to your browser's 'Help' function, if needed.
- Always log off after an Internet banking session.
- Never access your Internet banking website from a public computer (eg. cybercafe).
- Check your bank balance and transactions regularly - with Internet banking you can do this 24 hours a day. Notify your financial institution immediately if you discover any errors or unauthorised transactions.
Further Information
You should be aware of the dangers of attempts to steal your credentials by using fraudulent email messages that appear from legitimate businesses. These authentic-looking messages often create a sense of urgency, and are designed to fool recipients into divulging personal data such as account number, passwords and credit card numbers through 'phishing' and 'spoofing'. For more information on 'phishing' and spoofing' click on our article
Spam - How To Keep Spam Out Of Your Inbox.
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