How to Protect Your Bank Account From Hackers

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How to protect your bank account from hackers. With the recent spike in bank account hacks, I decided to dig and did some research and compiled ways to protect your bank account from hackers

Mobile Banking Trojans (MBTs)
Bank users are fast moving over to internet banking. This has motivated hackers to change strategy and hunt for login details. They will go at any length to be able to access your account.

A hacker will create a perfect replica of your bank’s app and upload it to a shady 3rd-party sites. Once you have downloaded the fake bank app and entered your username and password into it.

Your details will be automatically sent to the hacker giving them full access to your Internet banking platform. Furthermore, they may install a malware in an unrelated app.

 

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When this app with the malware gets installed on your phone, the Trojan scans your phone from time to time for bank apps. When a banking app it detected, the Trojan launches and pops up a window that looks like your bank app and it just open.

If everything is executed successfully, you won’t notice the swap and unknowingly enter your details into the cloned app. Your details will be sent straight to the hacker’s computer.

The Trojans are also smart to request for SMS verification code to complete the hack process making look like a legitimate code.

For this to be successful, they often ask for SMS privileges during installation and with it, they steal the codes as they arrive your phone.

Below are 5ways hackers go about getting login details and ways you can stop it.

Solution 1:
When you are about to download apps from app store, kindly check the number of downloads, reviews and rating. If they are few or no downloads, it might be an impostor app, especially for Bank’s App.

And also be careful about the permissions you give to some apps. If a mobile game asks you for SMS read permissions, do not allow such apps to install on your phone.

BE CAREFUL not to allow Third party apps to install on your phone as they are like to contain malwares

There is what’s called “Phishing”. The hackers can hack email address or chat accounts of your trusted contacts and send you emails or chats from there.

The send links and tricks people into clicking them. The sender address would be legitimate and the hacker will be talking to you using your first name. Be careful.

Solution 2:
If an email looks suspicious, treat it with a healthy dose of skepticism. If the email address looks legitimate but something “looks off”, it will do you good to verify the validity of the email by putting a call to the person, asking if the person sent such a mail.

Especially if the mail is from someone you know. Make sure is not your primary number incase your number is also compromised.

You may also have heard of keyloggers. This is a type of malware that records what you are typing and sends the information to the hacker.

So imagine what could happen if you typed in your bank’s web address, followed by you login details in the presence of the “keyloggers”. The hacker will have all the informations to easily clear your account.

Solution 3:
Two-factor authentication is another level security. If your bank has two-factor authentication for Bank’s app, you should enable it. Do the same for your social media platforms, What’s app, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.

This makes the malware less effective as the hacker won’t be able to replicate the authentication codes even if the get your login details. And if possible, install antivirus to help stop their track.

We also have “Man-in-The-Middle Attacks”. This happens when the hacker targets the communication between you and your bank’s website or social media in order to get your login details.

These attacks are called ‘Man-in-The-Middle Attacks” (MiTM Attacks). The monitor your activities when you are using an insecure server.

Sometimes, however, a hacker will use “DNS cache poisoning” to change what site you visit. When you enter a url of your bank, it will redirect you to the clone site owned by the hacker.

This cloned site has no difference from the real banks website. If you are not careful, you will end up in the trap of the hacker’s fake website.

 

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Solution 4:
Desist from performing any sensitive activities on a public or unsecured Wi-Fi connections (those who love free Wi-Fi should please take note of this, it is very important).

Also don’t forget to always check for HTTPS in the address bar whenever you log into a sensitive website. If it’s not there, there is a good chance that you are looking at a fake site.

If you must perform a transaction or other sensitive activites over a public Wi-Fi connection, read up about VPN on the internet. With it, you can take control of your own privacy.

A VPN service encrypts your data before your computer sends it over the network

Further more, SIM Swapping. A hacker can contact your network provider, claiming that they lost their phone. They will then request that their old number be transferred to their new SIM card.

With this, the network providers will the install your number on their SIM Card.

They can circumvent SMS codes easily. When they log into your bank account, the bank sends an SMS verification code to their phone rather yours. Then you are doomed.

Solution 5:
In this part of the world, we are aware that services providers typically ask confirmatory questions to check if the caller is who they are claiming to be.

But some are lax in their duties and will make the SIM transfer which will allow the hack to convinent perform His tricks on your account.

Using a token (bank token) for your online banking provides additional security against hackers and make it difficult for the hackers to access your account.

Kindly demand for a token from you bank and you can confirm from them what the withdrawal limits for e-token may be done.

Kindly share with friends and families to save them.

Leave your comments and experience with online hackers to update this post and for other not to be victims of internet fraud.

Thank you for reading How to Protect Your Bank Account From Hackers