Banks are one of the main targets of cybercriminals, a successful attack means that the attacker will achieve great economic benefits. On the other hand, we have the holders of these bank accounts who are the victims, and who can be caused significant financial damage and having to be reporting this fact. Next, we are going to show you the signs that can show that a bank account has been hacked and tips to avoid it.
If the bank account has been hacked, it can leave the customer of that bank in a vulnerable situation. One thing that we must bear in mind is that not everyone has several accounts to be able to get ahead of a situation like this. Now, let’s see what signs can give us a clue that we may have problems.
Small payments without explanation
Banks around the world are hacked almost daily, and our bank accounts have always been an object of desire for cybercriminals. These types of thieves do not want to carry out an unusual activity, so as not to alert the bank or the account holder. In the event that this strange movement happens, the alarm is raised quickly and they have wasted their time.
An indication that our bank account may have been hacked is when we observe that small purchases are being made online, generally for a few euros. Thanks to this, the attacker verifies that the account:
- It is working.
- You have funds or credit.
In the event that we detect small and unusual payments in our checking account, we must report it instantly to our bank, so that it can tell us what is happening. Another very important thing is that our bank must allow us to configure SMS alerts, receive account statements and also notifications of our transactions through the mobile banking app with push notifications, therefore, it is very important to install our bank’s application to have everything under control.
Unexpected notifications
If you receive an alert by SMS or through your mobile app, that an unexpected payment has been made, it may be an indicator that something is wrong. A good practice is to check these notifications to be aware of the payments we are making . In the case of observing a suspicious payment, it is essential that you follow up, and if it is not ours, we must inform the bank immediately.
On the other hand, if our bank contacts us to inform us about a change in username, password or personal data, we must act quickly. This is an indication that a cybercriminal is trying to access our bank account.
Phone calls requesting bank details
Criminals can sometimes call you on the phone and pose as a bank employee. What the cybercriminal is looking for is that we deliver our account number, username, password or any other essential credential to access our bank.
An important fact is that our bank does not call asking for personal information . Keep in mind that the vast majority of these data already have them. In the event that this happens, we must not give relevant information, we must write down the name and telephone number from which we have been called, and we hang up. Next, we verify the phone number, and if we are sure we call again. If not, we may use the bank’s main public number to report the incident to the appropriate department and take appropriate action.
Empty, closed accounts and bank insurance
Cybercriminals often start with small purchases, but if we don’t detect problems in time, they can make large transactions and drain our account. Sometimes we have savings accounts that we use very little. On some occasions, it may be the case that, after being empty, the bank warns us that it is going to close them.
Therefore we must review all our online accounts periodically. A good practice is to review the bank statements of all of them at least once a month. If unfortunately the bank account has been hacked, the bank has insurance. However, you have to know that it depends on the amount that is, because it may not cover all the money that was in that account.
Tips to prevent our bank account from being hacked
At the moment the bank account has been hacked, we have to give a series of explanations to the bank. On some occasions, it is possible to question whether it has been our negligence. The first thing we have to do is keep our credit card safe with an RFID-proof sleeve. We must also avoid accessing the bank account of a public Wi-Fi network, and if we have no choice, use a VPN.
Another important factor is that we should not click on any link in the SMS, or unexpected email messages that claim to be from our bank. The reason is because they could be Phishing attacks. Finally, we must use a password that is as secure as possible, if possible, use multi-factor authentication and also keep our desktop and mobile operating systems updated.