Plus, Graham Cochrane is a side-hustle whiz. After a job loss in 2009, he now pulls in $160K/month from two businesses in passive income — and he shares how he did it. Also, Citibank wants you to stop getting paper bills and what to do if your laptop gets stolen.
Bank apps — How they know you are YOU
Strong, unique passwords are the least you can do to protect online accounts. Here’s a primer to get you started. While two-factor authentication (2FA) is becoming a common security step for apps and services, some industries have yet to adopt it.
Take banking apps, which don’t typically require 2FA to get into your account. Seems reckless, doesn’t it? The thing is, they have other ways to identify who you are.
Security questions are not so secure
Remember security questions? You’d be asked questions such as the name of your first pet or the city you were born. This practice is falling out of favor, and that’s a good thing. Others might know the answer to those questions and get into your accounts.
RELATED: Necessary 60-second security checks: 4 quick cybersecurity steps to take NOW
Wall Street Journal reports that banks use far more sophisticated methods to identify clients, such as comparing your typing speed with each attempt. Others analyze how much pressure you use when entering credentials (they check how many pixels your fingers cover when you tap each key). That’s some serious James Bond-type security.
The four biggest banks in the U.S. — Bank of America, Chase, Citibank and Wells Fargo — use various authentication methods. But they all support Face ID and Touch ID for Apple devices and fingerprint ID for Android phones.
While all four banking apps also offer 2FA, it’s not always turned on by default. Let’s change that.
Bank of America
You’ll get asked to verify your identity with 2FA at certain times, like when you make a transfer or use a different device than you usually do.
It’s better to set up 2FA security to trigger every time you log into the mobile app. Set it up in the Security Center, which also shows other ways to improve security.
Chase
New phishing scams targeting your bank account
Your personal information is precious to cybercriminals, but they also want to make some hard cash. When they are not selling malware or sensitive data on the Dark Web, many work on financial phishing scams.
While the tactics often vary, the end goal is to steal as much of your money as possible. And it’s not just one bank’s customers who are targeted. Over the last few months, many scams used fraudulent details for almost every bank in the U.S.
Watch out for this malware that can hijack your email threads
New malware presents a headache for security researchers, as teams often rush to find ways to block them. This would involve reverse-engineering the malware to figure out how it works, its capabilities and dangers to the public.
These bank suspension alerts are fake – Don’t fall for them
When scammers can’t intimidate you through fear and bullying to hand over your account details, they often switch to a different tactic.
In a sneaky new campaign, scammers are sending messages to potential victims claiming that their bank account has been frozen due to suspicious transactions. The only way to unlock your assets? You must verify that you are the legitimate account owner.
This sophisticated banking scam looks too real to be the work of hackers
If you get an email from a company that you normally do business with, you probably think nothing of it. We’re always seeing special offers and payment reminders through email; it’s just the way of the world nowadays.