Those days are gone when account deposits or withdrawal required a visit at your bank to complete a transaction. Nowadays we have lots of option for financial transaction. Among all the options Mobile Banking is an increasingly popular way to manage and monitor your bank account.
According to Javelin Strategy and Research, mobile banking increased by 40% in 2013, with 74,000 users per day. If you are not using your phone yet to monitor your account, pay your bills and transfer money, soon you will.
This raise one question: How safe it is? There are so many tech savvy-crooks and identity thieves lurking around the web… Is it really a good idea to have your precious banking information on a smartphone that could easily be lost or stolen? The lack of security is the number one fear faced by potential banking customers.
The good news is that mobile banking is somewhat secure because there are so many variation in mobile banking apps. A thief has no way of predicting which method a potential victim might use, as there is no standardized method. But still you should follow certain rules in order to secure banking apps of your smartphone.
5 Tips for Securing Banking Apps of Your Smartphone:
Always remember this 5 tips if you use mobile banking, so that no thieves can get your precious banking information, here are they:
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Keep Track Of Your Mobile Devices:
Mobile Banking is so popular because mobile devices are easy to carry everywhere. Perhaps this is the biggest risk as well because it contains your passwords and contact details. It can be dangerous if it gets in the wrong hands. There are a few things you can do to minimize the risk.
- Use a trace pattern or a Pin to lock your phone. This might slow you down but it add a layer of security in case you lose your phone.
- Use an App locker to lock your banking app. I recommend using Hexlock for Android.
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Be Careful of What You Download:
There are many malware out there in the mobile app market, just like they used to be on PC’s. The fact is that mobile are specialized computers, so it is possible that one can design such apps which can access your personal information.
For example, an app you installed could hide a keylogger ; it is a program that records each and every keystrokes. Every number or letter that you enter is recorded. If the hackers pair the keylogger with some code, they can send all keystrokes through email without notifying you.
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Use Official Banks Apps:
Many banks now offer official banking apps in Play Store as well as in App Store. These apps generally tend to be more secure as compared to sending emails or SMS. Most of the apps try to get up to more security by keeping all your information encrypted.
Most of the banks have a separate section on their website where they mention about their apps. Make sure you only download the official app from your bank and not a fake bank app.
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Avoid Banking on Public Network
Many mobile devices allow you to connect to different types of networks like WiFi networks. While using public network at Café’s or Coffee Shops you might be tempted to check your account balance or make money transfers. Before you log in to your account, make sure that you are not connected to public network.
Public connection are not secure. Most of them warn you not to share personal information or sensitive information on public network. If you want to make any transfer, make sure that your WiFi is turned off, switch to your Mobile data and then log in. You never know who might be tracking you on public network.
If you still want to use the WiFi network available, make sur you do it through a VPN. It will encrypt your connection and secure your data. I recommend Rocket VPN for Android and iOS.
5. Don’t Follow Unknown Links:
You might have already heard about Phishing. It refers to tricking someone into revealing private information. This is the most used technique to hack Facebook accounts. Phishing schemes are very simple, but very complex to identify. They have complex website designs that mimics your bank’s official site, which is called spoofing.
This is an example of a phishing email, disguised as an official email from a fictional bank. The hacker is asking you to confirm your banking information on a website that looks like the actual bank website.
So never follow any unknown link received via SMS or email. This links might take you to a spoofed site. If you enter your information over there, you have handed all your information and data to the thieves.
We always recommend to navigate directly by entering your bank URL. You can bookmark it for future use.
Don’t be scared of using your mobile device to access banking apps or account details. Just be sure of performing good practice, safe behavior and approach, and track your device. By giving little attention and using common sense you can make mobile banking more secure and convenient. What will you do to make your banking apps more secure?
