Money Meets the Internet, How to Stay Safe

These days, people handle all kinds of financial matters online. Whether they’re checking their bank account statements online, transferring funds, or making online purchases, that’s a lot of private, sensitive information being transmitted on the world wide web. If this information falls into the wrong hands (or in front of the wrong eyes), serious trouble can ensue. Thus, it’s important you do everything you can to stay safe online. Fortunately, it’s not that hard if you follow a few simple tips.

Choose Insured Banking   

Having an online bank account is incredibly convenient. However, you don’t want to just go with any account that pops up or is offered to you, especially if it seems too good to be true. To ensure you’re putting your money somewhere safe, choose an account that’s insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), one of the most trusted organizations in the United States.

Be Password-Savvy

Pretty much every site requires you to have a user account and a password. With so many passwords to remember, it can get pretty tempting to just use the same password for every site. Don’t do it though! This is an easy way to fall victim to identify theft and fraud. If someone cracks your password on one site, and it’s the same across all the sites you use, you’re headed for disaster!

Not only should you use various passwords for each site, but you should also choose long, hard to guess passwords that contain things like capital letters, punctuation, and numbers. If you’re having trouble keeping all your passwords safe, write them down somewhere physical, i.e. not on your computer; if it gets hacked or stolen, the last thing you want is to provide a nice list of all your passwords to the thief.

Use Secure Apps

Everyone seems to be using tablets and Smartphones to surf the net, shop, and make purchases these days. In order to make all of those activities easier, many apps have been developed, and most of them are pretty great. However, not every app is your friend or has your best interests in mind. If an app can only be downloaded from somewhere sketchy, doesn’t provide security information, or doesn’t have good security measures in place, don’t use it to do anything involving your finances, or even better yet, don’t download it in the first place.

Keep Social Security Numbers Private

Finally, don’t put your social security number onto any form, especially not one that you have doubts about or one that’s just included on a random website. This number can be used to steal from you and to steal your identity. Very rarely are you actually required to provide this number online; the only real exceptions are for filling out tax forms, which you can do in person if you choose. It’s best for your safety and peace of mind to not put this number into anything online.

As you can see, through common sense and a heavy dose of skepticism (don’t trust any site without a good reason!), you and your money can stay safe online.