Secure Online Banking - These Are the Tricks of Cyber Fraudsters | Antivirus

Secure online banking - that is no longer guaranteed. More and more people are using online banking or mobile banking: According to Bitkom, 73 percent of Internet users are already doing their banking on the Internet. Even more, than half of those over 65 manage their transfers and standing orders from the comfort of their home or even when they are on the move from their smartphone. The many advantages of the convenient administration of money and financial transactions are obvious - but attacks on "personal online banking" are becoming more and more unabashed. Cybercriminals smell the big, fast money here, so that online banking is no longer secure.

Secure online banking - these are the greatest security risks:

1. Email phishing: password theft with manipulated emails. In online banking, customers use the PIN-TAN procedure to prove their identity. If online fraudsters get this information, they will ransack the victim's accounts. The procedure: The victims receive e-mails that supposedly come officially from the credit institutions. Customers are asked to click on links that would lead to the bank's website. In truth, the victims end up on "faked" websites. There, the entered account data, PIN, and TAN numbers are fished and used for illegal transactions.

Read the article Protection against phishing here.

2. Online banking less and less secure - due to  malware, Trojans, and malware: Cybercriminals bring malware such as Trojan horses onto banking customers' computers and secretly collect data. The fatal thing: the malware runs in the background, the user does not notice them. These are the two most important ways to get your money:

·         “Man-In-The-Middle” attack: the banking customer in the middle of the transaction of data traffic between the computer's browser and the bank's server are manipulated. When he transfers money, the banking malware intercepts the data, modifies the amount and the recipient's account number and forwards the transfer amount to its own accounts, often abroad.

·         "Man-In-The-Browser" attack: manipulation via the display of the online banking website in the web browser. After entering the correct URL, the correct online banking website of the credit institution is redirected to a registration website of the externally identical bank portal. The address bar even suggests that the selected address is correct. Enter your account number, PIN, and TAN, and the money is gone.

More about protection against malware.

3. Mobile banking: Handling banking matters in a holiday hotel in Vietnam is a great promise in the digital world for more freedom and flexibility. But especially in mobile banking via the free WLAN or in the Internet café, there is an enormous risk potential for your own account. These are the most important dangers in mobile banking:

·         Theft of the smartphone. If personal banking data is regularly saved on the mobile phone, the resourceful robbers may have an easy hand when emptying the account.

·         Unprotected mobile devices. Anyone who does banking on the move should always make sure that they have set the keypad lock with a PIN and that third parties cannot see the bank details entered.

·         Use of the public WiFi. If the radio connection is not secure or encrypted, bank data can be intercepted.

·         Use of third-party computers. If a vacationer uses the Internet café in a foreign country, there is a risk that the undeleted bank data will remain in the cache and be accessed.

·         Security gaps in mobile banking apps. Almost all banks offer their customers applications for mobile banking via the app stores, which offer the full convenience of banking via the browser. Unfortunately, it is regularly announced that these are not free from security holes.

·         Data espionage through SMS. Users receive a short message on their smartphone with a link to an alleged update of the banking security certificate. The link installs espionage software that spies out mobile TANs and can lead to account manipulation.

·         Mobile malware on smartphones and tablets. In general, the same security risks exist on mobile devices as on stationary computers. If no antivirus or antimalware software is installed on smartphones or tablets, or if regular updates are uninstalled, such security gaps can quickly be exploited by cyber fraudsters and online banking security is at risk.