Is Online Banking Really Safe?

Photo Credit by Fotografirox on Flickr

Security online is a growing concern for most people in this day and age. With information sent and received in almost a blink of an eye, convenience is not a question but security is. Imagine having your finances stored online.

3 out of 10 people in the Philippines have access to the internet and only 525,000 internet users use Online Banking (ComScore, 2011). Although year on year the Philippines poses one of the highest growth in South East Asia, the numbers are still few compared to users in Europe and North America.

So let’s say you are online banker. How can you protect yourself? Here are some tips:

1. Look for the HTTPS in the URL when logging in your bank’s website.

Banks use a mechanism called Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure wherein it is a special form security that encrypts data when we are browsing the internet. It also makes it very hard for people to hack into your financial data since it is made that way.

2. Only click-on legitimate links.

Be aware of your email, some of them are not actually sent by the bank themselves. Fraudsters are getting more and more creative on getting your money and if that means getting information from your Facebook, they may do it.

3. Be secretive.

That’s why it is called a Personal Identification Number (PIN) or a Password it means that you should only keep it to yourself. Never share it to anyone and never write it where people can easily access it.

4. Be complex, even just a little.

Following Tip #3, it is very common for people to use a very simple PIN in the like of their birth dates, et al. Make sure that you have a PIN that is easy to remember but still make people think.

5. Call Your Bank Immediately.

So you know you have been hacked, make an effort to call your bank immediately if this happens. It is also common that some special personal data are there in your bank which makes you more vulnerable to fraudsters.


About the Author

I am Sil Silvestre and I work for iMoney, South East Asia's biggest financial comparison website. We independently compare bank products and insurances for our visitors for free. We aim to educate Filipinos on making wise decisions with their money.