Ensuring safe online banking sessions
Online banking environments are prime targets for identity thieves, and it is up to both customers and financial institutions to ensure they are employing online security best practices.
Customers must seek out all available resources to stay informed on emerging online identity theft risks and related defense strategies. Solely relying on the banking institution as an educational outlet could prove costly.
"They don't involve the consumer as much as they should," Javelin Strategy & Research managing director Phil Blank told BankInfoSecurity. "The U.S. has never really taken into account prescriptive measures."
With that said, it is up to customers to investigate online security threats like phishing attacks and explore available solutions like password manager software.
Although the quality of consumer education efforts vary between banks, internal security controls should not. According to Bank Tech, a number of financial institutions are operating under the false assumption that strong online security practices are inherently inconvenient and often frustrate customers.
On the contrary, banks can foster customer engagement and strong security by allowing customer to choose their preferred authentication methods, syncing physical and online credentials and establishing a variety of channels for customer feedback.
