Protecting your Money -

Is Online Banking safe? Overall yes it is. But the banking industry does need to do more.

Online Banking is a good thing. I find it so much easier to login to my bank and download my statement rather than waiting till the end of the month. I can find out if my wages have been paid in or a Direct Debit has been paid out very quickly. Do i need to worry about my account getting compromised? Well yes I should and do.
 

There are lots of ways to protect your online bank account. However most of these will have been done by your bank. You should be able to assume that your bank has done as much as it can to safeguard your data. Check with your bank. They will be happy to tell you all about 'How safe' your money is.

So if my bank has done everything it can to protect my account how did UK banks lose over £4.5 last year? (according to estimates from banking group APACS published last month.) The one thing I think that most banks both online and high street are failing in is educating us (its customers) in how to use our new shiny online accounts safely.

So how are these crooks getting our money?

• Phishing Email Scams  
• Trojan Key Loggers
    

These are the most common ways crooks use to gain access to your money. What are they? How do I stop them? What do you mean your bank haven't told you!

Phishing Email Scams - These are usually emails sent by crooks that look exactly like an email from your bank. They normally include a link to the banks website along with a message. The message varies from scam to scam but the gist is the same. They are trying to get you to click on the link and enter your details. DO NOT DO THIS Your bank will NOT send an email like this.

If you do click on the link don't be mislead. The website it takes you to could look exactly like your banks website. EVEN THE ADDRESS. It is very easy for scammers to copy a website and fool a lot of people.

If you ever get an email like this claiming to be from your bank RING THEM from a number you know to be theirs. They will soon tell you if it is genuine or not. Never use any contact details that come in the email as these could easily be faked.

If you think you may have visited one of these sites contact your bank NOW. Let them know your account may have been compromised. They will help you to access the risk and take the appropriate action to protect your account. YOU MUST TELL YOUR BANK if you think this has happened to you. Don't be embarrassed it has happened to thousands of people.

Trojan Key Loggers - Are a new invention by virus writers. The are spread via Email and file download. Once they have infected your computer they wait until you logon to your banks website, then they record what buttons are pressed during the login. Then it sends your bank username and passwords back to whoever wrote it. Your account has now been compromised. The crooks can empty your account when ever they choose.

One such Trojan, Banker-AJ recently reported in theregister, targets such banks as Abbey, Barclays, Egg, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide and NatWest. However you need not worry to much as long as you use a good antivirus program.

Most antivirus programs will protect you from trojans like 'Banker-AJ' as long as it is updated regularly.

I suppose that the best advice to give anyone using an online banking system is 'Be sensible and use Antivirus Software' If you are unsure ring your bank.

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