How Safe is Your Money? If You're Banking Online...
This week's focus on online banking came about as an article topic via a close BNI friend, Dan Tuczinski, of Tuczinski, Cavalier, Gilchrist & Collura (www.tcgclegal.com).
Online banking is fantastic for those pressed for time, which would be every attorney client we know. The common features that every online banking institution offers are:
* Transactional
- Electronic bill presentment and payment
- Funds transfer between a customer's accounts
- Investment purchase or sale
- Loan applications and transactions, such as repayments
* Non-transactional
- Bank statements
- Site browsing (e.g.: locate branches, services explanations...)
Features commonly unique to business banking include
* Support of multiple users having varying levels of authority
* Transaction approval process
* Wire transfer
Most Internet-based banking sitesoffer personal financial management support, such as importing data into accoumting programs Quicken, Microsoft Money or TurboTax.
Our experiences with online banking security varied as we tested numerous banking sites. Regarding account access security, authorized HSBC account holders must utilize a single password issuing device. Occasionally, it became mildly annoying to locate the device (meant to be attached to a keychain) but otherwise, this small device delivers powerfully as it randomly issued six-digit passwords at each click. Bank of America offers a completely Internet-based two step login which requires the viewer to select, and then identify at each access attempt, a security image. If the correct selected image is viewed, then the user can proceed to the next step - the actual password log in. (Mozilla's Firefox browser can be somewhat taxing if you've opted for cache-clearance at the end of each session. The B of A login then requires, as it's first step, prior to image identification and password submission, the user to select the State in which the account was opened. Several smaller banks (such as Trustco) require the standard account user name and password but we preferred the extra security layer offered by the larger institutions as mentioned above.
And, although all online banking transaction information, including the password, is encrypted, encryption alone does not guarantee that hackers won't access a customer's PC. The favored tool of many hackers is intercepting the keyword as it is typed in (keylogging). To help dissuade hackers from attacking your account, we suggest that our clients use password manager Roboform (www.Roboform.com) when participating in online banking. Roboform memorizes your passwords and can be set to randomly change them at intervals on your choice. The program is intuitive, easy to use and does not contain any hidden spyware.
Finally, elect the same time each day to access your account(s) as transaction posting varies from bank to bank and by transaction type.
Stay safe,
Lina
