Before you use your mobile phone next time for banking transactions, you might want to follow a few tips to protect it against malware attacks.
Though mobile banking is fast catching up with people across categories, India is still a country highly impacted by malware. In fact, according to a recent survey by Trend Micro, a software security firm, India ranks third (9 per cent) among countries affected by mobile banking malware, behind United States (23 per cent) and Japan (10 per cent).
Here are five tips by which you could secure your transactions.:
These are your first line of defence. Make sure your passwords are strong contain a combination of characters, letters and numbers. Revise them regularly. Use an online password strength tester to understand how easy or hard it would be for a machine to guess your password. “Some of the most used passwords in India in 2021 were qwerty, password, 123456, India 123, abc123 and sairam. If you use these, you’re inviting trouble. Lastly, do not expose your password and sensitive information such as OTP with anyone or anything except to the systems for which that data is specifically meant. If you’ve been exposed, take defensive measures immediately,” says Adhil Shetty, CEO, Bankbazaar.com.
Ensure you update your software regularly. Older software wasn’t built to tackle new threats. “Make sure you have access to antivirus and anti-malware softwares. Especially do not click on funny links or fake websites where you could lose control of your bank account or your computer,” adds Shetty.
Info-security is an evolving field. Threats evolve into new forms. Educate yourself about them. Make sure you have the basic awareness required to spot and avoid threats. Educate yourself, and educate your family members, too.
There are repackaged apps that lead to mobile malware. Beware of such apps as they are malicious. Be careful when downloading apps, as they could bring in malware. Most banking apps are available on official app stores. Usually, the information sent out by these apps is encrypted to secure transactions. Also, be on your guard about high-risk apps that display unwanted ads. Keep a track of what you are posting on an application platform. Though they promise safety and data security, you can never be sure. Ideally, before downloading any app, you should read up as much as possible about that app on the internet.
Be wary of suspicious calls that could put you in danger. This especially happens when you return a missed call from an unknown number. You could be charged high rates for these calls. Moreover, your phone security could be breached by scammers and your phone data transferred during a call. Especially, do not give out sensitive information or banking details, pin code, debit or credit card numbers on your phone call.