Keeping Your Bank Accounts Safe with Secure Contact Listing Practices
1/4/2023
Keeping Your Bank Accounts Safe with Secure Contact Listing Practices
In the blink of an eye, life can change. That’s what happened to one woman when her handbag containing her mobile phone, wallet, credit card and other items was stolen. Her husband answered a text on her phone asking for their pin number and then they rushed down to the bank only to find out all the money had already been withdrawn. How did this happen? Let’s take a closer look at why this valuable lesson is so important for community bank customers.
This story illustrates how powerful a mobile phone can be in our lives. We use them for almost everything now- calling or texting family and friends, taking pictures or videos, listening to music, checking emails and so much more. But they are also vulnerable if not kept secure. It took just 20 minutes for the thief to get hold of the pin number that was sent by text message and then withdraw all the money from their bank account.
The lesson here is to always keep your mobile phone secure and never share your passwords or pin numbers with anyone—even through text messages. If you have contacts saved in your address book as “hubby” or “wifey” it may be time to change them! This small step could help protect you from becoming another statistic from someone taking advantage of mobile security weaknesses.
Community banks offer additional security measures that can help protect customers against fraud like this example. Many banks now offer biometric authentication which uses fingerprints or facial recognition technology to log into accounts instead of using passwords or pins. Banks are also introducing two-factor authentication which requires two pieces of information (a password plus an authentication code) in order to access an account online or via a mobile app. These security measures provide an extra layer of protection against fraudsters trying to gain access to accounts without permission.
This story serves as a reminder that we must always remain vigilant when it comes to protecting our personal information online—especially with our mobile phones! Keeping your contacts private, changing passwords regularly and having additional security measures like biometric authentication set up are all excellent steps towards staying safe while banking online with a community bank. Don’t let something like this happen to you; take control over your safety today!