Banking and shopping are moving more towards online models, which makes life much easier for you, the consumer. Unfortunately, it also provides an opportunity for thieves and fraudsters to exploit security weaknesses and extract cash from your account in a number of devious ways. It’s worth remembering that keeping your cash under the mattress or carrying it on your person was just as likely to attract the attention of those intent on theft, and may well have involved physical injury as well! In many ways, using online services can be a great deal safer, providing you follow some basic security rules.

Protecting your identity

Even if a thief gets hold of your bank details, unless they have some knowledge of your personal information ,they should still find it hard to bypass security systems in place at banks and online providers. This is why when you set up your passwords and security information you will be asked to go through two or three stages of verification to ensure that no-one except yourself can access your account. For your safety, and to make sure this process works effectively, it’s essential not to write down any of your security information, especially somewhere that a thief could easily find it, for instance, a note in your wallet, or a sticky on your laptop screen! You should also never reveal your information to callers or email inquiries. If you do get asked for your information, call your bank directly on a different line and check that the inquiry is legitimate. Most banks require a complex password for online accounts, but some stores still accept very basic passwords. The more complex your password is, the less likely it is to be hacked. If you struggle to remember your passwords, you can use a secure online password manager to keep track of them.

Using cryptocurrencies

This form of payment has been growing in popularity, and many retail outlets and online stores will now accept payment by Bitcoin or similar non-standard currencies. If you wish to use this form of payment, you first need to find out where to purchase Bitcoin and how it works. It’s appealing because it can be a worthwhile investment as well as a convenient way to make purchases, but you still need to observe security measures. You can keep your Bitcoin in an online web wallet if you’ll primarily be using it for Internet purchases, or for more flexibility, you can download a software wallet. Hardware wallets are like small USB devices that cannot be used for anything except Bitcoin storage, which makes them both flexible and secure. You need to regularly back-up your wallet, and it’s advisable to have several backups in different locations, in case one is destroyed, in much the same way you would backup your laptop to an external hard drive.

Online fraud and theft are crimes that continue to rise, but if you take sensible precautions, you will significantly reduce the risk that you will be affected. Remember to trust no-one until you have proof they are legitimate, keep all your information secure and backed-up, and take good care of your cards, wallets,and passwords.