Is your bank password a hacker’s dream?
Your online banking password may be easy for you to remember, but it could also be easy for fraudsters to crack.
When picking a password for your online banking, you may have opted for something such as your date of birth or mother’s maiden name.
Did you realise that these details can be easy for hackers and fraudsters to find out? If these people do figure out your password, they could potentially empty your bank and savings accounts.
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It may not just be fraudsters you have to worry about, with recent research from insurer esure revealing that
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But fear not, there are a number of things you can do to increase the strength of your password.
- Make it long
It tends to be the case that, the longer your password, the harder it is to guess. According to Google’s Stay Safe Online guide to passwords, there are almost one quintillion possible 10-character passwords, which is 4,000 times more than there are eight-character options.
- Use a mixture of character types
Passwords consisting of a mixture of letters, symbols and numbers are harder to guess than those that consist of just words. Some hackers use special programmes to try every word in the dictionary, so adding a number or punctuation mark may stop this from working.
- Don’t write it down
This one’s quite self-explanatory. If you do write down your password though, it’s wise not to keep this in the same place as your bank card, account details or statements.
- Make it unique
It’s a good idea to have a different password for your bank than you do for your email account or any other internet site or service. Criminals target sites that don’t have strong security, stealing usernames and passwords and then testing these against other popular sites, which could include your bank’s website.
Safer banking
Aside from creating a password that’s near impossible to crack, there are a number of other safe banking tips you may want to follow.
These include making sure your computer is safeguarded by virus protection software, which prevents the installation of viruses that record your password as you type it.
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Be careful when opening emails that look like they’re from your bank. They may appear legitimate, but if they’re asking you to enter your password then they may be fake.
Whenever you want to access your bank online, use a search engine to find the legitimate site, rather than clicking links on an email that could be from a fraudster.
If you’re unsure as to whether an email is legitimate or not, contact your bank and check – it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Finally, keep a close eye on your account and if you spot any unusual transactions on your statement, contact your bank immediately.
**This material is for information purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. We strongly encourage our readers not to rely solely on this content, but to seek independent advice when making financial decisions.**
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