10 Ways To Protect Your Online Transactions

 The increase in the number of professional hackers has proved that the essence of online banking security in the 21st century cannot be overemphasised. In the light of this, computer technologists and financial analysts say that sending your bank transactions and surfing across the web can be as hazardous as piloting a ship through pirate-infested waters.
Below are 10 ways to protect your online transactions, according to experts:

1. Always use a dedicated personal computer

Analysts recommend that businesses should always use a dedicated PC for online transactions. They note that cyber-criminals have adopted measures of writing malware to generate fraudulent Automated Clearing House and wire transfers.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nath Concept Limited, a computer service firm, Mr. Jonathan Ikechukwu, notes that for a cyber-criminal to successfully hijack ones transactions, the criminal would first insert the malware onto one or more of the victim’s company’s computers.
According to experts, infecting a computer usually requires less effort if computer is regularly connected to the internet or used for sending and receiving emails. The American Bankers Association, analysts say has recommended commercial banking customers should carry out all online banking activities from a stand-alone, hardened and completely locked down computer system from which e-mail and web browsing are not possible.

2. Find web addresses on your PC by yourself

Analysts say internet links in email messages, text messages, instant messages, or pop-up ads can take you to websites that look legitimate but are not. They advise that when one wants to visit a website, he should type the address himself or should use his own bookmark or favourite, especially when it has to do with financial transactions.

3. Watch out for signs that guarantee the safety of your information

Before entering sensitive data on a web page, always watch for signs that say your information is safe. Although this can be manipulated by hackers, you should try to know the kind of sign which the organisation you are seeking to know about may put up online.
Experts say that you should ensure that the site uses encryption, a security measure that helps protect your data as it traverses the Internet. Some encryption signs include a web address with https (“s” stands for secure) and a closed padlock beside it. They say the lock at time might be in the lower right corner of the window.

3. Lock down your computer when necessary

Financial analysts note that “locked down” computing creates a secure channel between your personal computer and your bank’s server. The former President, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, Dr. Samuel Nzekwe, notes that it is important for individuals to lock down their systems. IBM’s ZTIC is one hardware solutions, which experts say can be used to secure online transactions.

4. Partner your bank on dual control

They say that one could also partner their respective banks to establish “dual control” over ones account. Once this safeguard is in place, two individuals from your organisation will need to log on and authorise any transaction. With dual control in place, a hacker would need to breach two computer accounts in order to commit a fraudulent transaction, analysts at About.com say.

5. Subscribe to receiving alerts from your bank

It is also vital that you request your bank to send email confirmations or text messages of online transactions to you. This will provide you with an early warning of any fraudulent activity on your account.

6. Your password must be strong

Experts advise individuals who carryout online transactions to be cautious of their passwords and to always change it often, stressing that ones’s password must not be shared. According to them, strong passwords are the first line of defence in ones online domain.

7. Check your account balance often

It is advisable for individuals to always check their balance daily if possible. If you catch a fraudulent transaction at the end of a business day, you may be able to cancel it before any funds are transferred.

8. Don’t “friend” strangers

According to Ikechukwu, it has been proven that hackers could use information obtained from social network sites of friends to breach or break into organisations sites. The same techniques could be used to hack into online banking accounts. They say that most people easily drop their guard on Facebook and other social network sites. This, they note, is because of the belief that friends are to be trusted, even if not completely. “Scammers are watching,” Nzekwe says. “They know that once you are on some of these social websites, your guard goes way down and they may capitalise on that.”

9. Save financial transactions in your home computer

Never pay bills, bank, shop, or do other financial business on a public or shared computers or devices such as laptops or mobile phones that are on public wireless networks. The security is unreliable.

10. Make good use of your common sense

The ability to watch out for scams is another factor of making good use of one’s senses. Experts advice people involved in online transactions to be wary of shady deals that sound too good to be true. They say one should often neglect alerts from ones “bank” that his account will be closed unless he takes some immediate action, stressing that notices of lottery won should be ignored. “In fact you should refuse to meet in person for a local transaction,” Nzekwe advises.
According to analysts, these messages, whether sent through the internet or through mobile phones, are designed to entice victims to visit criminal websites where fraudsters can easily collect the data of their victims.