As we all know, doing any sort of business online comes with a lot of risk. There are cyber criminals out there that are constantly thinking up creative ways to trick people. In this article, we’re going to talk about safeguards that professionals who facilitate wire transfers can Implement in their systems to protect themselves and their clients.
Education & Awareness
First and foremost, getting some education and awareness about cyber security and internet banking is essential. That is really the most important way that people can protect themselves. For example, knowing what a phishing email looks like can help you avoid a catastrophic situation.
For context, a phishing email is one that comes into your environment and tries to trick you into believing it’s a legitimate email. The email will either ask you to open an attachment (that will then download malware onto your device), or click on a link that brings you to a website that either downloads malware or asks you for your credentials.
Learning how to spot a phishing email, and how to take your time and not react to it immediately is essential. We’re all working at a million miles an hour, and you have to just take your time and ask yourself if an email is legitimate. Typically fraudsters want to make you do something quickly that you shouldn’t be doing. Essentially, they’re trying to hack the human operating system.
Dedicated Computer for Wire Transactions
It’s important to have a dedicated computer that is used solely for processing transactions. That dedicated computer should not be used for email, internet browsing, or anything else. It’s only used to logon to your online banking session, initiating transactions, and approving transactions. That way you are really minimizing the risk of downloading malware on that device or being socially engineered.