Five Steps to Keeping Your Financial Accounts Secure
It has never been more imperative to be proactive in keeping your personal and financial accounts safe and secure from cybercriminals. Vigilance and regular monitoring pay off when you are not one of the millions of Americans who fall victim to cybercrime each year. Here are some tips to help you protect yourself.
- Use strong, unique passwords for your financial accounts and change your password often. Use a mix of arbitrary letters, numbers and symbols for your password. You may want to consider using a password manager to help you securely manage multiple logins.
- Enable two-factor authentication. It may not be as convenient to have to go through two forms of identification when you log in to your accounts, but adding an extra layer of security is critical.
- Beware of scams. Learn how to identify phishing (email), smishing (text) or vishing (phone calls) that are deceptive techniques designed to steal your information. Never click on suspicious links or provide personal information in response to unsolicited requests — even when a message or voice may sound like someone you know.
- Review your bank, credit card and investment account statements often (such as on a weekly or biweekly basis) to catch any unusual, fraudulent activity.
- Check your free credit reports annually for any suspicious accounts or financial discrepancies.
There are many more tips, such as only conducting online banking at home on your own secure network, password protecting your devices or setting alerts on your banking, credit cards and other accounts. If you find suspicious activity on your account or even question it, immediately change your password, report it to your financial institution for further action and notify the three credit bureaus and Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
