Online banking is an electronic payment system that enables customers of a financial institution to conduct financial transactions on a website operated by the institution, such as a retail bank, virtual bank, credit union or building society.

 

 

Benefits

 

Access

With online banking you can access your account 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. You can pay bills online by using your online checking account. You can transfer funds, change your personal account preferences and you can view up-to-date account statements whenever you want.

Online Services

You can access online services with your Internet banking account that you may not be able to access any other way, according to Financial Web. You can apply for loans online with your bank, request an increase in your credit limit and review the information for all of the different investment products your bank offers without leaving your home.

 

Risks

 

Identity Theft

A financial institution may use state-of-the-art security measures to protect your information, but once you have your account available online, your information is at risk from hackers, according to the article titled “Online Banking–Advantages and Disadvantages” as published on Financial Web. Computer criminals are always working to bypass existing security systems, and if your financial accounts are held on a bank's server then they could be fair game to being stolen. All of your personal information, including your Social Security Number, that is associated with your account is as risk as well.

Phishing

Phishing is when a criminal sends out emails to people with fake links trying to get those people to click on the links and give away their personal information, according to the article titled “Banking Securely Online” published by the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team. When you set up an online bank account, you may get one of these emails. If you click on the fake link, it will take you to a website that looks and acts like your bank's login page. The page was actually set up to steal your login information. Within minutes of having your login information, the hacker will log in to your account and begin stealing your money and your personal information.

 

Here are five Internet banking security tips:

1. Don’t log onto your Internet banking accounts from unsecured connections on public wi-fi connections such as parks, airports, libraries, or coffee shops. These wireless connections are not encrypted, meaning account numbers and passwords can be intercepted as you transmit them. Cyber-thieves also “shoulder surf” – look over your shoulder – to steal your password.
2. Don’t log onto your accounts from shared computers. Internet browsers store your password information, so the next user has full access to your accounts. Public computers might also have key logger spy ware which record every key stroke, giving thieves your information that way.
3. Don’t click links in email claiming to be sent from your bank, Paypal, or other payment systems. These “phishing” emails lead to fake sites that mimic legitimate web pages to fool you into sending your account information directly to the thieves. Open the real web page yourself and log in directly.
4. Change your passwords often. Make your Internet banking security passwords harder to crack by using numbers and punctuation marks.
5. Don’t use your Internet banking password on unsecured sites such as media or social networking sites.