Watch For Online Thieves During Quarantine

Recently one of our family members had their online banking attacked. Turns out this week after checking online banking statements that someone was making purchases with their bank card. Luckily there wasn’t a huge amount of damage, but a crime had been committed.

I think that with everyone in “quarantine” more and more people are shopping online to avoid going out and being around others. This means more use of the “bank card” for online purchases. It also means more crooks out there trying to get into your cash.

Remember the saying “Crooks always one step ahead” or at least they think they are. The “crooks” know that most people these days are using digital currency and they know if they can breach your account, then bingo they get paid.

in our case the criminal was using the account to make Amazon purchases. So definitely be aware of your accounts and activity.

Here are some safety tips:

• Change your password on a regular basis
• Check your bank statement regularly
• Use licensed anti-virus software
• Don’t use public computers or WiFi when online banking
• Disconnect internet when not using
• Type your bank URL very time instead of using email links

Make sure you are keeping an eye out, because cyber theft can happen to anyone, it’s just a numbers game and crooks just keep trying til they find a way into your information.

If you have certain platforms your like to shop from (Amazon, Walmart, Apple, etc) check your activity every so often so you can spot any oddities.

By the way our case was handled and minimal damage was done, hopefully all funds will be reimbursed. It’s bad enough we are dealing with a pandemic, but we also have to deal with people trying to take advantage during this time as well....but are you really surprised? Be safe.