Mobile banking includes deposits, withdrawals, account transfers and balance inquires all for your smartphone or tablet. These actions can be done via text message, web browser or smart-phone based app. There are a number of financial institutions developing SMS technology and applications for mobile devices like Bank of America, Citizens Bank and Citibank. Some banks are really advanced with their mobile banking services. For instance, the Chase mobile app lets you scan and deposit checks using your smartphones camera. Chase also allows you to transfer money between different Chase accounts.
Here are five mobile banking security tips:
Go to Your Banks Website
There are a lot of fake websites out there today that try to mimic your banks official site. Fraudulent links can also be sent via email. For those reasons, it’s always best to navigate to your banks website directly. You can also bookmark your banks web address on your mobile device and access your bank account safely that way.
Use Official Bank Apps
As I previously mentioned, most banks today now offer official apps for smartphones and tablets alike. More specifically, these banks have gone to great lengths to ensure that your private information accessed through apps is encrypted. When possible, you should access your bank account directly through your bank’s mobile app rather than signing online.
Avoid Public Networks
Most public networks are not secure and run the risk of being hacked. While it may seem convenient to check your bank account using free Wi-Fi at a local coffee shop, try to avoid public networks when possible. Instead, switch to your phone or tablets 3G or 4G data plan before log-in personal account information.
Keep Track Of Your Mobile Device
For many of us, our mobile devices contain our personal information including emails, passwords and private calendars. Losing your mobile device could be very detrimental, especially if it were to fall into the wrong hands. Therefore, it’s extremely important that you keep track of all your mobile devices – plus smartphones and tablets can be rather costly.
Lock Your Device
In addition to keeping track of your mobile devices, it’s also a good idea to lock your smartphone or tablet when it’s not in use. You can do this by setting a unique password in your settings. This will help protect your devices from outsiders. You may also want to opt for GPS locating apps as an extra precaution, in case your mobile phone was to ever be stolen or lost.
Mobile banking can be very convenient. However, this convenience comes with certain security risks. If your mobile phone was ever to be compromised, you risk losing all of your personal information or worse, it falling into the wrong hands. So, keep track of your mobile devices and follow these steps to ensure your mobile banking accounts are safe from theft.
MacKenzie is a freelance writer for company that sells software for recurring payments. Our recurring payments module makes easy work out of scheduling cyclical billing.