Digital banking is used by 78% of adults. Securing your accounts from a cyber attack is a necessity, and hackers target these platforms because of the possibility of financial gain. A single infiltration can lead to entire account balances being transferred.
Knowing the signs that your account is under attack can help you take swift corrective action to lessen the damage a breach causes.
5 Signs That Your Bank Account is Under Attack
1. Unrecognizable Transfers
One of the first things that our cybersecurity company in Miami recommends is that you examine your bank accounts at least weekly for any unauthorized transfers. Hackers can steal debit card or account information and make unauthorized charges to the account.
If you’re a business owner with a lot of outflows every month, you may overlook small transactions.
Review your accounts for even $1 transactions that you don’t recognize. Often, a small transaction is charged to verify that the account works. If the charge goes through without notice, subsequent charges will be much higher.
2. Random Text Messages from Your Bank
Text messages are being sent to mimic your bank. The FTC warns that cyber attacks are being started with texts that:
- Look like they’re from your bank account
- Alert you to “fraud”
- Steal your credentials
If you receive one of these texts, it’s best to log into your account manually or call the bank to verify that the text is real. These texts use fear to trick you into giving a hacker your personal banking details.
3. Contact Information Changes
People ignore the emails that they receive because they’re bombarded with them day and night. If you ignore the wrong email, it can be a costly mistake. Your bank should send you an email if your contact information or password has changed.
However, hackers can also send this same type of email with malicious links.
So, what can you do?
Call your bank to verify that the email is real and that your contact has changed. If you see a number in the email, ignore it. Instead, look up the bank’s number for yourself and be sure that you call the real number.
4. Password Changes
If you cannot log into your account for some reason, your account’s password and username may have been changed. Password changes are often made because the hacker wants to have access to the account to take money out of it in hopes that the change will keep you busy while they do.
5. Alerts of Unusual Activity
Your bank may send you messages that unusual activity has occurred on your account. Perhaps someone logged into the account from a suspicious location, or a large transfer has occurred that is abnormal.
In all of these cases, call the bank to verify the message.
If the alert was sent and verified from the bank itself, it likely means that someone has your banking information. You'll want to change passwords and setup two-factor authentication, if it exists.
Are you concerned about your business’s online bank account’s safety? Contact our Miami cybersecurity company to discuss how we can help you secure your financial accounts.