Digital banking has become the new normal. The emphasis on digital was expedited by the pandemic, as banks limited hours and fear around contaminated paper bills rose. As of 2020, 1.9 billion individuals worldwide actively used online banking services, with that number forecasted to reach 2.5 billion by 2024. The increase in the use of mobile apps and websites for banking transactions has created a prime target for hackers.
There are many ways your bank account can become compromised, including malware, trojans, keylogging, phishing, and social engineering scams. Many of these are up to your financial institution to invest in digital security to protect your information. But there is one key to your data that you have complete control over, and that’s your security questions.
If a bad actor already has the email or username associated with your banking account, they can attempt to reset the password by answering security questions. Some common security questions might be:
- In what city were you born?
- What was the name of the street you grew up on?
- What is the name of your pet?
- What is your mother’s maiden name?
- What high school did you attend?
- What was the make of your first car?
Look familiar? You’ve probably answered them to get back into an account you’ve forgotten the password for. The problem is that the answers to these questions are predictable and easy to find. Think about all the information compiled on your social media profile. Maybe you have a post revealing the name of your pet, or you recently attended a high school reunion and you’re tagged in a group photo. Maybe your mother lists her maiden name on Facebook, and someone can find her by searching your friends list. A bad actor takes one glance at your social media or does a quick Google search, and your bank account is completely exposed.
So what can you do? One method of protecting yourself is to create strong, difficult-to-guess answers to your security questions. They could be a completely untrue or unrelated answer—say your father’s name is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Or use a mix of numbers, letters and special characters to code your answer.
The best way to protect your banking or any other account from being compromised is to use a digital privacy service, such as Hush. We search the Internet for any sensitive or personal data that might leave you vulnerable to bad actors—including your email address, date of birth, where you live and work, etc. Hush finds, flags, and removes this information to eliminate personal security threats and keep you safe. Leaving your personal data exposed is like keeping your front door unlocked. It’s an invitation for bad actors to come in and wreak havoc on your life. Take control of your digital privacy with Hush.
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