People do not lose money every time because of failed transactions and businesses; the role you play in protecting your bank security details goes a long way in determining whether you will fall into hands of hackers.
The careless things you do can make hackers access your bank details.
The time has come for people to stop blaming the government for every misfortune that befalls them. One of the things that come with being an adult is accepting responsibility for your actions. The jobless and lazy people in the society keep looking for ways of ripping off people who are rich.
Hackers do not sleep when it comes to launching new methods of stealing from people. This means it is totally up to you to protect your bank details and be on guard in order not to fall for their tricks.
Find below some of the basic ways hackers get information about you and your bank details:
1. Social media profile
Keeping your details on social media may make you a target.
While it is understandable that you want to be on top of your game in this century, it is also important for you to protect your details.
Your social media pages should not tell the story of your life in minutes. Hackers go through the pages of people on the social media and put down important information about them.
Your date of birth, year of birth and phone numbers are used in opening important documents in the bank. If you must put them on the social media pages you run, then do not add the year.
2. Carelessness with cheque books and account numbers
Your unsigned cheque book can be used against you if gotten by hackers.
Your bank account details should be protected always. Do not assume the only people that will steal from you are outsiders. Letting your cheque book lie in every corner of the house may put you at risk of losing your money in the bank. A leaf from the cheque book is all that is needed!
The unsigned page of the cheque book contains your account number which could be used to generate every other information about you. Most times, bank officials help hackers have access to your account.
The next step is getting your signature in order to validate the transaction. The insider who has access to your cheque book can get this easily as there are places in the community where signatures are being forged.
Suspecting foul play may be impossible because the money is not always withdrawn in the owner’s branch.
3. Suspicious texts and emails
Hackers send messages like this to people, do not fall for it.
Another thing hackers do is to send text messages and emails asking you to update your bank details. In order to get people to respond, they tell them their BVN registration is incomplete and they will not be able to make any transaction soon.
If you keep getting unsolicited texts messages like this from hackers, do not respond to the messages. Their emails will only take you to a page where your details would be obtained from you.
4. Weak passwords
Use unique words with symbols and numbers to create strong passwords.
Hackers get access to your accounts because you have weak passwords that can be easily deciphered. Most people create their passwords using a combination of their date and year of birth. Hackers who know your full name can put other details together and crack your passwords.
Your passwords should be made from unique words made of different cases. This should be combined with numbers and symbols in order to create a strong password.
5. Entering your bank details in websites that are not encrypted
Make sure the sites you want to use in assessing your account information are protected.
If you do not want to get under the radar of hackers, then you should be more conscious of the websites you log in to with your bank details.
When shopping online, avoid sites that are not trusted. Most times, the sites hackers use do not have ‘https’ in their url addresses.
The computers you use should also be protected most times, the browser security software should be updated from time to time.