Banking on line

[tigger398]

My husband was talking about banking on line. I don't think it's safe, no matter how secure your computer is. There is still a loop hole. Does anyone do banking on line, Is it safe for you.

[Fez]

I have been doing it for years and have never picked up a problem. I have not been inside a bank in months, and then only to collect cards. I find it very convenient and do all my stuff online, from Forex, shares, transfers between my accounts, to normal day to day utility and other payments (I like the control I have over payments to third parties, which I can change and adjust the dates as it suits me..)

 

Have the latest anti virus and malware software (my bank supplies it online free of charge), guard your passwords and change them regularly.

 

I also have my cellphone connected to my bank accounts. Any transactions, even to buying gas sends an instant sms to my phone.

[Guest LadyC]

i bank online, and have for years. is it safe? well, safe is a relative term! i've never had any issue result from using online banking. however, i've had fairly regular issues with using my debit card in real life. about every 6-8 months i have to get my debit card replaced because there has been a security breach at some store i use (michael's, target, etc.). one time i had a debit card stolen right from my purse by an unsavory guest (not my guest, but a former roommate's guest) was visiting. and i hear horror stories all the time about people with some kind of magnetic scanners that can lift your debit and credit card information from your card through thin air while it's in your pocket or purse. and we all know the dangers of having card numbers swiped by restaurant servers when they run your card, or gas station attendants, and things like that.

 

in fact, we hear more about those kind of breaches than any online banking problems. so yeah, i feel very safe using my bank online. but to make it a little safer....

 

never store your password for your bank on your computer. don't let your browser store the password either.

make your bank password include special characters... for example, let's say your password was "password". you could use P@s$w0rd. the o in word is a zero, so it has all the elements for a secure password... alpha-numeric with upper and lower case letters and symbols. plus if you use symbols or numbers (3 instead of E?), you can create a password based on a pet's name, a person's name, an event, or anything that is easy for you to remember but hard for someone else to hack.

 

also never do online banking from a cell phone unless you're on a secure private wifi network.

[other one]

we have been doing electronic banking for years and have had no problems that were not taken care of.   And those pertained to a debit/credit card associated with the checking account.    I do not write my passwords down anywhere, and change them regularly.

 

Our problem has been with the cards themselves.   About three times a year someone manages to get the information from one of our cards and spend as much as they can untill it's locked.   Last time they bought $800 dollars worth of Starbucks cards....  Discover called me about the time I got the first text message to ask me if I was purchasing the cards.

It was unfortunate for us though for we were driving to meet a cruise ship for a two week trip and lost the use of the card till we got back home....   it's good to have more than one just for that reason.

 

Anyway, the credit card companies always restore the funds so it doesn't cost us anything.

 

I get text messages any time our cards are used, so I know almost immediately when they are being used.  I also log onto our checking accounts often to make sure auto draft bills are being done right. (problem learned the hard way).   About the only time I go into the bank itself is to cash a check I get from someone else and I am told that there is a way to even do that.  I haven't had the occasion to need it enough to learn how.

 

Right now I am not using my phone to do business....   I have an Android phone and they have a security problem right now, however I do use my phone as a wifi hot spot and use my laptop to do business.  I am considering putting unix on that to make it even safer.

[Guest]

Just wanted to add that using online banking while connected to an open WiFi network is a really bad idea. Only use a secure, encrypted network WiFi connection for that. If you have to use an open wifi network, you can use a VPN to secure your connection from prying eyes inexpensively.

 

Here's a link to the service I use: https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/

 

Thier service is good, and inexpensive, and is supported for both Android and Apple phones. Works great on open (i.e. non-encrypted) WiFi connections like Starbucks, McDonald's etc. Have a look at the intro video on their page if interested.

[jmlusa2000]

I do some of my banking online, and have had no problems.

[ncn]

I do some of my banking online, and have had no problems.

 

 

I heard so does your cat , and she uses your passwords and cards. 

[jmlusa2000]

 

I do some of my banking online, and have had no problems.

 

 

I heard so does your cat , and she uses your passwords and cards. 

 

lol, yes she does. Bella is quite an intelligent cat. She knows how to max out my accounts.

 

lol

[Joy and love]

I like banking online. But my stupid bank keeps doing something stinking annoying every few months. It won't let me log in with my usual password. It did it about a year ago and I had to go to the bank to change it. The site regularly tells you to change your password. But I have trouble keeping track of everything mentally, so I leave it.

So now for the past few months I can't log into my bank account. It sucks because I would like to see my balance without checking it at the ATM before buying groceries. I just don't want to go into the bank to do all of that.

It also has a $10 bank fee each year. The fact I don't work this takes a big chunk out of my food money!.

Argh! Life is so annoying, everything is such a struggle...a fight to survive. Life constantly has problems in it. To do anything involves stress and bother..,for me anyway!

The only 'joys' I have even come with stress and sadness.

[Tropicalbound]

What most people don't realize is their bank accounts ARE online.  Just because you don't use online banking, doesn't mean your account isn't available online.

 

I use a password manager called KeePass.  I had it randomly generate a password with the maximum number of characters my bank would allow, using uppercase, lowecase, numbers, and special characters.  I could not remember this password if my life depended on it, but it would be almost impossible for today's computers to crack the passwrd hash in a reasonable time.  Here are some things to consider:

 

• Do not use a password you used at any other site
• Do not use free or shard WI-FI
• Do not answer the bank's security questions truthfully (when it asked for the first name of my best friend, I used his last name)
• Click the 'logoff' button when you're done, don't just close the web browser

Millions of people bank online everyday and very few have problems.  Just use common sense.

Edited July 31, 2014 by Tropicalbound