Steps To Protect Your Financial Data in 2018

For our entire life, we continue to work hard, day and night to fulfil our dreams. But a small financial breach can shatter our dreams by leaving us empty handed. The year 2017 could be a good example when attackers found a loophole in the security system of big names like Equifax, Yahoo, Nissan, Uber and many more. So, one can imagine that if attackers can trespass the security level of the companies which have high set security standards, then for layman users like us it would be a cakewalk for them.

However, this doesn’t mean that we do not need anything to keep our financial data intact. In this article, we have summed up some tips which can help you secure your online accounts and data from security breaches.

Use of Strong Password for All Your Financial Accounts

This world of technology has given us a convenience of managing our financial and bank accounts by just logging into their portals. However, this ease many a times becomes a problem as a hacker, if any how gets your login credentials can empty your bank accounts. Therefore, to tackle this problem, we recommend you use a strong password which must be a combination of alphabets (both upper and lower case), number and special characters. Also, if you have accounts in more than one bank then create different passwords for both. Moreover, you can also use password managers like Last Pass to generate secure passwords.

Also Read: Life Threatening Malware: Triton

Dispose All Your Financial Documents

Often, we find our accounts statements and credit statements a trash. Therefore, we never care about them whether received them on printed paper or on emails. But mind you, a trash for you can become a key for attackers for all your accounts. This means if the copy of your bank statements gets in the wrong hand then the risk of identity theft becomes almost double.

So before throwing your accounts in bin it is better to completely dispose them with no trace left behind. For online statements just use a file shredder which can completely dispose your statements, that no file recovery software can recover them back.

Never Access your Financial Accounts from a Public Computer or on Public Wi-Fi

It is never a good idea to access your bank accounts from a public computer, as you can never be assured that how secure it is. Also, when it comes to public Wi-Fi then never trust them to access your bank accounts. Because you never know that a public Wi-Fi you are using is already compromised and transmitting all your sensitive information to attackers.

Therefore, it is advisable to access all your banking details only when you are on your home network and on a personal computer. Yeah, you can use the public networks to stream videos and movies.

Also Read: Five Important Functions required In An Antivirus Software for MAC

Stop Responding to Unwanted Emails, Calls and Messages:

Nothing comes for free in this cut throat competitive world. So, if someone calls you telling that you have won thousands of dollars and to claim that you just have to confirm your credit card details then this is nothing else than a scam. Moreover, if you receive an email or message asking for your account details then response to that email and immediately trash it.

For and additional security you can also contact your bank and report the issue. However, in the worst of cases you just get trapped in any such scam then immediately contact your bank to stop the payment.

Enable Two-Factor Authentication if Available

Considering past security breaches many financial companies have provided their customers an additional layer of security i.e. two-factor authentication process. This process makes your account more secure and less security prone when compared to account which does not have multiple factor authentication process.

Obviously, if you have enabled this multi factor authentication process then you have to make an extra effort to login to your account. But that extra effort will surely give you complete peace of mind.

Also Read: Keyloggers: How To Stay Protected?

So, guys, hope you find this article helpful in securing your financial data. If you have other valuable tips feel free to share them with us in the comment section below.