Safe Internet Banking

Remember the time when you have to fall in line towards the teller or get number and wait for it to be called just to be able to do your banking transactions?  Remember when you have to allot one whole morning to finish your agenda with your bank or when you have to rush to the branch because they close at three in the afternoon?  Those are ancient things of the past. 

Almost all of the banks nowadays, (if not all of them) have opted for an innovation called on line/ internet banking. 

No more long lines, waiting time or all-day bonding with the bank’s couch, internet banking allows account holders to do their banking whenever they want to, wherever they want to and at their own phase. 

Internet banking not only allows customers to save time but also saves them from paying miscellaneous charges.  Transactions like bills payment and balance inquiries incur extra charges when done through Automatic Teller Machines but if they are done using internet banking, it would be free of charge.

Aside from the benefits, internet banking also offers special features to their techie users.  One of them is automatic bill payment.  Customers can automatically enroll their bills and deduct the amount to their accounts via Internet banking.  Another feature is automatic transfer.  Transferring money from checking accounts to savings accounts can be done with just a few clicks.  Lastly, Internet banking also has automated records to their customers.  Since online banking is real time, customers can easily update their records and balance their checkbooks anytime they want to.

The innovation of internet banking has a lot of advantages especially on the part of the consumers.  But as with any other things, it also has its disadvantages.  There have been numerous incidents of identity theft that lead to consumers paying for services or items they have not acquired in the first place.

To avoid the negative side internet banking, the best solution is to practice safe internet use.  How?  Here are some tips:

1.       Create a strong password for your online accounts.  The longer the password is and the more that it has combinations of letters, numbers and symbols, the safer.  Do not use obvious passwords like 123456 or qwerty or ‘password’.  Complacency kills the giants.  It would also be better to avoid using your birthday or birth year as passwords because if you lost your wallet with all your cards and valid ids that contain essential information, criminals might easily access your account.

2.          Do not disclose your password to anyone, not even to your best friend.  Money is the root of all evil.  It might tempt even that most angelic friend of yours.

3.          Do not use the same password you have with your internet banking account to your other online accounts such as social networking.  Password recoveries are useful to these other online accounts but might turn harmful to you.

4.        Do not access your online banking account from public use computers like those in internet cafes.  Hundreds of other people use the same computer in those establishments.  As a result, the computers become vulnerable to viruses and spywares that might actually keep your record.

5.         Do not login to your account via email links provided by an email message that is allegedly from your bank.

6.            Ensure that the URL begins with an HTTP when you access the website of your bank.

7.            Check your transaction history details regularly to help you track your account activities.

8.            Regularly delete your browser history after your internet banking transaction.

9.            Inform yourself of the new tactics that criminals use to get your personal information.

10.      Immediately contact your bank institution once you feel that your internet banking account has been compromised.

Source:

Inquirer.net: Visa’s tips on Internet banking by Abigail Kwok. (Published on May 31, 2010)

Maybank2u.com: M2U Tips for Online Banking.  (Under the eServices tab)