Important security tips for safe online banking

Nowadays internet banking is very common to our day to day usage. Either you have to book a cab through Uber / Ola, giving order of food on Zomato / Swiggy, shopping of items through online merchant sites like Amazon / Flipkart, payment of electricity bills etc. Everywhere you have to come across internet baking tools. It can be in the form of online banking, mobile banking, E-wallet apps, credit cards, debit cards etc. Due to increased users of Smartphones, usage of internet banking tools are also increasing day by day.

Cyber thugs are also become active to cheat you and gain unauthorized access to your online bank accounts using hacking and cyber frauds. Daily lots of news are coming of cyber frauds that made worried to online banking users.

In this guide we will tell you some important security tips for safe online banking, tips for securing credit cards, mobile banking and E-wallets from hacking and cyber frauds.

Tips for safe Online Banking

1. Never click on the links provided on suspicious email that lead you to some unauthorized external links. For example hackers send an email that you have won a lottery, to claim the same click on the link below. This link may ask you your banking credential like user id/ password, or any other personal information that may cause threat to banking security later on.

2. Never click on the email links asked you to change your password, asking to upgrade your credit card limit etc., even email looks genuine. First call respective bank customer care or visit your bank physically to cross check the same.

3. Always open your baking site by typing the address manually, ensure website address start with https://,  this s in https:// stands for secure, that site on Secure Socket Layer protocol. Where encrypted link  is established  between user and bank website. If you are not sure about exact address of your banking site, you can search on google like “Online SBI”, “ICICI Bank” etc. Google always shows you genuine links on the top in search results, not the fraud links.

4. Always update your Operating System e.g. Windows, MAC, Linux. Update your browsers frequently e.g. Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Edge etc. Update your Antivirus and Internet Security software database time to time. It is recommended to use licensed version of Antivirus with inbuilt Firewall, as free versions not having as much of security as provided by licensed versions.

5. If possible always use virtual keyboards to enter passwords for login. Use strong and long passwords. Passwords with combination of small alphabets, capital alphabets, and special characters are always best. User more than 8 character password and frequently change them.

6. Time to time visit your online accounts to check any suspicious transaction or activity. Lower the transaction limits through profile settings. Keep watch on beneficiaries added in the account for fund transfer, and remove them if any beneficiary not needed further more.

7. Subscribe for SMS and email alerts both. In case mobile SMS not received on time, same can be intimated through email alerts.

8. Do not use online banking on public computers, public WIFI networks. If you have any urgent transaction to be made on public computers, always change the password later on. You can also block the your online account by typing three times wrong password after such emergency transaction made on public computer.

9. Do not shop from the suspicious websites, always use trusted website for shopping. These websites can save your passwords, credit card numbers to make any fraud in future. 

10. Do not share your passwords, PIN, OTP to anybody even with banking officers.

11. Keep watch on your installed programs in computer, by opening control panel time to time. If found any suspicious program uninstall them.

12. In every visit check your last login date and time to ensure there was no any unauthorized access made to your account.

13. Keep watch on pop ups, if found suspicious block that site using internet security software, browsers settings. Do not add any third party unwanted “extensions” or “addon” to your browsers.

14. Scan your computer time to time for hidden virus or harmful programs.

15. Always logout the window when transaction is complete, and close the internet banking tab and window.

16. If not on personal, trusted PC use “Private window”/ “Incognito window” to access banking sites. These windows clears history, cookies, passwords when closed after use.

Tips for safe online banking on mobile

1. Keep update your Mobile Operating System (Android/iOS/Windows) time to time, as in every update security patched are updated. Also keep update your mobile apps time to time.

2. Keep watch on all the apps installed and also check their permissions. Go to security settings of mobile where you will find one “Administrator” or “Device admin apps” setting. The apps checked here are having all the powers and access to your mobile phone. If you found any unwanted app here unchecked them and also uninstalled the same, if not installed by you. Some genuine apps are to be keep checked as administrator access like your antivirus app, Google app. These apps are required to find your device in case you lost your phone and to erase from remotely if lost somewhere.

3. Many smartphone having encryption option, so encrypt your phone. In case you lost your phone nobody can access the data inside it. Users who are using microSD card also advised, do not keep any sensitive or important data inside this. SD card can only be used for media files like movies and songs to save storage in mobile phones. As in case of lost or theft this data can be easily accessed using other computer.

4. Samsung users can also use reactivation lock feature to lock their phone, even it was factory reset, one not use it without entering Samsung Account credential.

5. Use a good antivirus app for your mobile to keep watch on security issues and to erase your phone data remotely, in case of theft or lost.

6. Always download apps from respective app store of operating system for Android use “Play store”, for Apple use “Apple store” and for windows use “Microsoft Store”. Never download the apps from third party internet stores; these can have source code to steal your data or can corrupt the mobile functionality. 

7. Do not root or jailbreak your phones. This rooting made your phone vulnerable to threats. Some people also install custom rom to their phones, these are having many features and tweaks that are not provided by stock ROM. But genuineness of their source code is not confirm, if you want a ROM for your daily usage use stock ROM that provided by mobile manufacturer.

8. Turn off notifications on the lock screen, somebody can easily access to your OTP and other important information received from SMS or emails.

9. Always use secure Wifi network or cellular network for online transaction. Use WPA, WPA2 networks with keys, do not use WEP networks.

10. Do not click on the links received through SMS, this may access all your information when lead to any external links where asking your credit card information etc.

11. Do not save your credit card information on the shopping sites, there is no risk on trusted platform e.g. Flipkart, Amazon, Paytm but in case their server is being hacked. Your credit card information can be reached in the hands of hackers.

12. Do not reply on the calls mentioning that they are from Cellular service provider and they require SIM identification number (back side of sim there is 19 digit ICCID no.) to upgrade your sim. This can be a call from cyber fraud that may request issuing duplicate sim to change your sim card. Immediately talk to respective cellular operator for such events.

Tips for securing your credit cards

1. Never use your credit card on the suspicious and unauthentic website for the lure of huge discount or offer.

2. Block the international transaction using internet banking or calling customer care. Because lot of cyber frauds happen on international purchases. Even on international transaction OTP, PIN or CVV numbers are not required as these transactions are not in the jurisdiction of RBI.

3. Never give your card to someone for swiping e.g. in restaurant and petrol pumps. Always go yourself to make the transaction on card swipe machine.

4. Hide the keyboard by your hand at the time of entering the PIN.

5. Check the transaction time to time, also checks the SMS alerts and email alerts.

Tips for securing your ATM cards / Debit cards

1. Always use the ATM machine installed on some crowded area or some secure area. Never allow other persons to enter in the ATM kiosk.

2. Keep watch on ATM machine for any temperament on card swiping area, if any doubt does not made transaction there.

3. Hide the keyboard by your hand if some camera installed to capture your PIN number it is difficult to capture the PIN by using this.

4. Never give your card to anybody, mostly this happen that thugs exchange the cards with senior citizens and illiterate persons.

5. After receiving the cash do not leave, keep watch till than transaction is complete and again home page of ATM machine come up. The swiping area will glow with green blinking light, it means ATM machine is again ready to received next card.

In case you have come across any frauds immediately report the same to respective bank and police station. As up to 72 hours your complaint will be registered, later on it is difficult to register your complaint. For credit card there are generally chances to get refund but in case ATM card or through online banking it is a tedious process.

Hope you will adopt all the security measure as described above and forward others also for safe banking.