• 

Are ATM”s safe?

Monitoring all your accounts is important, but these days you want to pay particular attention to what’s going on in your checking and savings accounts, because thieves increasingly target bank accounts.

The bad guys have found plenty of ways to steal all-important PINs. Some set up bogus ATMs or install skimming devices or cameras on legitimate machines to record account numbers and PINs.

A few may even have cracked what MSNBC technology columnist Bob Sullivan calls the “holy grail” of bank-account hacking,

So the answer to question No. 2 is also “false.” You don’t want to write down your PIN, of course, but keeping it a secret won’t necessarily protect your account.

What you need to do:

Avoid unfamiliar ATMs.

Consider using your credit card instead of your debit card for transactions.

Monitor your bank transactions at least once a week and question any unfamiliar charges.

If your accounts have been compromised, shut them down and open new ones. The bank may resist, but once the bad guys have access to your account, there’s really no foolproof way to keep them out, except by shutting it down and starting with a new account number.

by stealing and decoding encrypted PINs from a retailer’s database.

‘Helping’ you as they help themselves

Finally, you need to know about a twist on “phishing” scams called “vishing.”

In a phishing scam, you get an e-mail purportedly from your bank or another financial institution, or a site where you have an account, such as eBay or PayPal. The e-mail typically warns of some security problem and tries to get you to provide personal information, such as your login ID and password.

Vishing is like phishing, except a phone is involved. You may get an e-mail directing you to call a phony customer-service line, which prompts you to input account numbers, passwords and other identifying information.

Or you may get a phone call purporting to be from your bank or credit card issuer and be asked to provide critical information, such as the security code on your credit card. The criminal may already have some of your account information, to create a false sense of security.

By the way, you can’t trust caller ID to separate legitimate calls from vishing calls. The criminals often use Internet calling services with software programs that create bogus customer-service numbers, or they hack into legitimate companies’ phone lines.

To fight back: If you get an e-mail or phone call purporting to be from your financial institution, don’t provide any information. Dial your institution’s main number yourself and let it know what’s happened. If it’s a fraud call, you’ll be connected to the right people for further action.

In other words, be vigilant. Always assume the sender of the e-mail, the caller on the phone and the person standing behind you in line are out to wreak havoc on your financial life. A little suspicion can go a long way toward protecting your wallet and your identity.

Welcome back! You may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Technorati Tags: Account Numbers, Bad Guys, Bank Transactions, Bob Sullivan, Credit Card Issuer, Customer Service Line, Debit Card, E Mail, Ebay, Financial Institution, Holy Grail, Msnbc, Phishing Scam, Phishing Scams, Savings Accounts, Security Code, Security Problem, Target, Technology Columnist, Vishing

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Related Posts

• Restore Outlook PST Password Restore Outlook PST Password Outlook express password backup tool retrieve lost mail id Wednesday, August 19, 2009 Outlook and outlook express password rescue software allows you to recover corrupted or damaged login account information including username, password. MS office outlook password recovery application is very simple and read only tool......
• Do You Have A Proper Antivirus Program For Your Computer? To date, one billion people or so have accessed the internet from all over the globe. So, it is truly important to install the proper antivirus and anti-spam programs into your computer. It does not matter whether it is your own personal computer or your company's computer. Since companies usually......
• Identity Theft and What You Can Do About It - Part Two What Should I Do To Avoid Becoming A Victim Of Identity Theft? To reduce or minimize the risk of becoming a victim of identity theft or fraud, there are some basic steps you can take. For starters, just remember the word "SCAM":   “S”  Be STINGY about giving out your......
• Avoid Rogue Security Program SecureAntivirusPro As you have no doubt guessed from the title, SecureAntivirusPro is a rogue security program designed by hackers to con innocent people. Disguised as a legitimate antispyware application, this program advertises incessantly to the user, informing them that severe security threats reside on their PC. This program in itself is......
• Spyware Stop - How Do I Get Rid Of Spyware Ever wondered what it's like when your accounts have been hacked? Have you ever wondered how it feels when your money from your bank account was stolen? I'm sure you don't want to experience this misfortune. But this can happen if your computer will be infiltrated by a spyware. A......

Related Websites

• Frequency & Monetary Analysis For Subscription Based Services Frequency (F) and Monetary (M) analysis, form together with Recency (R) the framework of RFM analysis. Though recency is the strongest predictor of future behavior, frequency and monetary analysis act in a complementary mode (to recency), to create a complete picture of the Customer behavior. There are many cases......
• A Checklist Of Business Account Options - Mobile Banking Opening a business account is a major point in the early stages of your company. The market is currently saturated with thousands of account choices making the decision a difficult and sometimes bemusing one to make. But what are the major considerations to be made? What factors must form part......
• Online security: So many passwords, so many risks Sean Holstege - The Arizona Republic Let's face it: The Internet is a great convenience, but all those user names and passwords can be a cumbersome pain in the caboose. There's work e-mail and home e-mail, then all the online accounts for the bank, a credit card or two, maybe......
• Alameda County Marinas Part 2 Union Point Basin 2301 East Embarcadero Oakland, California 94606 Phone: 800.675.DOCK Average water depth? 13 feet, but this is subject to change. Please call ahead for exact levels before you arrive. Is there a marine stand by channel? No, not at this time, but you can reach the marina by......
• Types of ID Theft It’s probably true to say that most people are much more aware of identity crime today than they were in days gone by. After all, identity fraud is one of the most rapidly growing crimes in the USA and in many other developed countries.According to a current report by the......

« How far are we from Malware? | Home | Is that ATM safe? »