Beware Online Banking

Online banking, a new way for people to access their account information, its faster, more efficient, we keep better track of our spending and it's "greener". But is it safer? Computers are susceptible to viruses and outages. According to the CBS article, criminals drained out almost $10 million dollars in a 24 hour period.

Just as criminals can hack into ATM bank accounts, hackers will be able to find a way into our accounts online. In Florida a man was just convicted for stealing 130 credit card numbers from online accounts according to WBIR.com.

It is also important to know your banks privacy policy and your responsibilities as an online banker. Do not give your PIN number to anyone and watch your accounts for suspicious activity. Nothing is fool-proof and although online banking has been deemed safe, most banks only give you 60 days to report your money missing or you're out of luck.

In small business or commercial online banking, if the money is transferred outside of the United States, figure your money gone for good. In one case Forbes discusses the circumstances of a couple who owned a bookkeeping business. According to the article, hackers in early 2007 directed that $26,500 dollars of their $27,000 in the account be transferred to an Hawaiian account with a false name. 10 days later when the couple realized the money was missing, the money was in an Austrian bank who refused to return it.

Since 2007, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of hackers who are able to infect high-volume website with Trojan viruses. According to the Forbes article, "When visitors arrive to view, say, a news page, the virus hops from the site onto their PC. The hackers then follow their marks as they move to their online bank accounts. Outfitted with a keystroke-capture mechanism, the Trojan horse records the user names and passwords".

Facebook, another entity where although we are not storing our bank account information, we are storing personal information about ourselves and releasing information about others. Recently, I was notified by a 'status update' that hackers have recently gotten hold of Facebook. The status update read:
HACKER WARNING!!! There's a new way to hack your Facebook.

A Notification will be sent to you that one of your friends has commented on your status; it will open a new page and tell you to re-enter your Facebook username and password. The page looks just like the Facebook login page so be on the look out!!!! Please repost this to your status to let your Facebook family and friends know.

So far, I have seen a couple of my friends pages change suddenly unknown to them. I have had several friends who's identity has been stolen, and after months and months, are continuously on the phone with their bank trying to "get their identity back". Having an online identity is risky, and never fool proof, however today it is almost impossible to live without one.