Credit Professional 2018 Spring_2018_magazine | Page 18

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banking or shopping. A growing
number of people are
purchasing basic PCs and
using them only for banking
online and not Web browsing,
emailing, social networking,
playing games or other
activities that are more
susceptible to malicious
software—known generally as
"malware"—that can access
computers and steal
information. As an alternative,
you can use an old PC for this
limited purpose, but uninstall
any software no longer needed
and scan the entire PC to
check for malicious software
before proceeding.
Periodically check your bank
accounts for signs of fraud.
If you bank online, check your
deposit accounts and lines of
credit at regular intervals to
spot and report errors or
For example, some people use
fraudulent transactions, just
online "account aggregation"
as you would review a
services that, from one website, paper statement.
can provide a convenient way
to pay bills, monitor balances
Online banking makes it easier
in deposits and investment
and faster to monitor your
accounts, and even keep track accounts. This is important,
of your frequent flyer miles.
because the sooner you can
detect a problem with a
While these websites may be
transaction, the easier it
beneficial, they can also
should be to fix.
present potential issues related
to the security of the account
Federal laws generally limit
information you have shared
your liability for unauthorized
with them. If you want to use
use of your debit, credit and
their services, thoroughly
prepaid cards, especially if you
research the company behind
report the problem to your
the website, including making
financial institution within
sure that you're dealing with
specified time periods, which
a legitimate entity and not a
vary depending on the
fraudulent site. Also ask what
circumstances (for more
protections the website offers if information, see How Federal
it experiences a data breach or Laws and Industry Practices
loss of data.
Limit Losses From
Cyberattacks). A good rule of
thumb is to check your
Take precautions if you
provide financial account
information to third
parties online.
accounts online once or twice a
week. Also, many banks make
it easier for customers to keep
track of their accounts by
offering email or text message
alerts when balances fall below
a certain level or when there
is a transaction over a
certain amount.
Basic Security Tips
Keep your software up to
date. Software manufacturers
continually update their
products to fix vulnerabilities
or security weaknesses when
they find them.
"All of your software should
be checked and updated as
generally recommended by the
manufacturer or when flaws
are found," explained
Kathryn Weatherby, a fraud
examination specialist for
the FDIC.
"This advice goes for everything
from your operating system to
your word processing software,
Internet browsers, spreadsheet
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Spring 2018
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The Credit Professional