Have you got enough safeguards for your online banking?
Take a step into the 21st century. If you haven’t begun banking online, it won’t be long now. Being able to track your finances online 24 hours a day saves you time, money and effort.
Internet banking is already more popular than telephone banking with 18.1 million Britons banking online in 2006. The number has increased fivefold in the last six years alone, which isn’t bad for a service that’s been up and running since 1997.
Online bankers access their accounts more frequently, with one in five users logging on daily compared to one in 13 four years ago. And 90% of online bankers also shop online.
All high street banks offer internet banking facilities, while there are also some online-only banks. Both types of financial institutions offer the same services – viewing balances and statements, transferring funds between accounts, and paying bills. Customers still receive debit and credit cards, and are provided with the use of other banks’ ATMs.
But online-only banks offer more competitive rates because they are cheaper to run and savings can be passed on to customers. However they can’t provide the face-to-face customer service that high street competitors do.
Whichever way you bank online, you are able to look after your finances a lot easier without leaving the house.
Pros of banking online - Flexibility/accessibility - you can access your account at any time 24/7 without having to queue, restrictive banking hours or public holidays.
- Incentives - Internet-only savings accounts, online credit cards, personal loans and mortgage deals can save you a lot more.
- Less cost - the only expense is the cost of the time spent online charged by an Internet service provider.
- Green friendly - because all statements are able to be viewed online, there is a lot less printing and thousands of trees saved in the meantime.
Cons of banking online - Security - The only issue with banking online is security. No one wants to be a victim of fraud. Everyday more and more guards are put in place to stop fraudsters from gaining confidential details and therefore your cash, but the hackers can be just as fast at figuring their way around them.
- Most banks accept that security can be an issue and will generally pay customers back if money is lost as a result of online fraud, so long as you took all reasonable precautions to avoid it, but it can take weeks or months and can be an inconvenient and traumatic experience.
- “Phishing” (hacker’s slang for fishing for bank details) - This is when official-looking emails supposedly from your bank contain a link to a hoax website where customers can unintentionally give away their username and password.
- Remember that your bank would never ask for these via email.
Online banking safety Internet banking has been around for ten years and it’s relatively safe – it’s not about to go anywhere soon. Most banks use their own security systems that include unique passwords, access codes, user IDs and encryption. The most up-to-date versions of Internet browsers are equipped with advanced security systems, which can be obtained free of charge from the provider’s websites. But there are some extra measures that you, as customers, can take when using the internet to bank online: - Keep your customer security codes (ID, password, PIN number) secret – never tell them to anyone and never write them down or leave them near the computer.
- Never use an obvious password that someone could easily guess. Using memorable words but replacing certain letters with numbers and punctuation marks is a good method. For example, “password” could become “p@55w0rd”.
- Change your security codes on a regular basis, and change your codes immediately if you believe someone else has gained access to them.
- Always close your Internet browser once you have completed your banking, so your account details can’t be accessed by someone using the same PC.
- If your time logs out before you are finished, log back in to your account and log out the proper way, just to be sure. Wait for verification to make sure the connection has been dropped.
- Never leave your computer unattended when you have logged on to Internet banking. Some banks have an automatic time-out after five or ten minutes if there has been no activity.
- Always type the bank’s address into your web browser to access it, never follow a link.
- Install a strong firewall, anti-virus software and spyware on your computer and regularly update it.
Now go to...If you're still not convinced, or would like to find out about more protection, check out our article about identity fraud and how to stay safe online. If the inevitable happens, or just in case, have a look at what to do if your identity has been stolen. Discuss this article
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