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Eye On Cyber: What Are The Risks Of Banking Online?

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Online banking makes it so convenient to make deposits, pay bills and move money with just a few taps on your phone or clicks of your mouse.

But what are the risks of tapping straight into your bank account from the internet?

The great thing about online banking is that you can perform almost any regular transaction anywhere and anytime.

Unfortunately, creative criminals think it's great too.

Banks are a top hacking target for obvious reasons but they've also poured a lot of money into cybersecurity, making them a hard target to break into. So hackers often turn to customers as their way in.

One of the most popular and successful ways that cybercriminals target customers is with so-called phishing emails that pretend to be from a financial institution. Instead, they include links that are laced with spyware or send the customer to a fake banking page that tricks them into providing their username and password.

Text messages are the latest avenue for this type of attack. A customer receives a text message from someone claiming to be a bank representative and dupes the customer into allowing the criminal to take over their phone and, with it, their banking app and account.

To avoid getting scammed do not use public Wi-Fi for online banking. If you're away from home, use a wireless signal.

Change your passwords frequently and sign up for alerts from your bank so you know if something is amiss.

Finally, make sure you bank uses multi-factor authentication, like sending you a text message to verify you are the account holder.

Find more from "Eye on Cyber" by clicking here.

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