Banks Enjoin Customers to Help Stop Cyber Thieves

As more and more households start to do their banking online, the American Bankers Association (ABA) has started asking its consumers to partner with their banks to keep their hard-earned earnings safe.

According to reports, approximately 80% of US households do banking over the net and most of them believe that banking online is as safe as branch banking. Unfortunately, this is not the case as more and more identity thieves discover new ways to hack through bank databases and steal personal information. As such, the banking industry is asking clients so that they can monitor their saving account for unauthorized changes. Doug Johnson, ABA’s VP for risk management policy believes that monitoring has to be done continuously, preferably on a daily basis in order to make it effective in keeping cyber robbers in check.

Despite instituted security technology, reports show that cyber robbery is still evolving, and there are no signs of cooling. In 2009 alone, Panda Security, a Madrid-based antivirus software provider reported that the number of Trojans created to pilfer online savings accounts increased from 4,295 at the start of the year to more than 65,000 by December.  

In the past, banks had to spend millions of dollars just to shore up the cyber defenses. Despite these security measures, writers of malicious codes focus on strategies to overcome the newest defenses. Many of them actually succeed, thereby requiring banks to institute better defenses which are typically capital intensive. This cycle has led to losses for many American banks. In a 2009 survey conducted by ABA, it was discovered that 85% of the biggest banks in the US are experiencing losses due to cyber attacks on online savings accounts. In the same report, banks have reported that threat level is now at 2.58 on a scale of 0 to 5. Compared to its 2007 figures, this is a 1.84 increase in rating.

Every bank in the US experiences all kinds of attacks. Avivah Litan, a banking security analyst from Gartner believes that solutions to these attacks work only until the next attack, which is typically more prolific and aggressive. Hence, it is important for consumers to monitor their own accounts.

For example, Janis Stuart, a personal trainer based in San Diego recently prevented an attack on her account. Stuart reportedly received an email from her community bank informing her that all future communications will be forwarded to another address, according to her instructions. Apparently, she never requested such a change and immediately conducted her branch office. She was informed that more than $5,000 was scheduled to be transferred to another account in the form of a bill payment. The payment was then stopped.

Many banks today use knowledge based authentication questions for every session. Answers to these questions are derived from the information amassed by the 3 credit bureaus. These questions ask about personal details such as the name of the account holder’s father in law, or the color of one’s car.  Johnson says that the questions will get more difficult over time.

While banks are tasked at instituting new security protocols to protect online savings accounts, consumers are enjoined to learn how to protect themselves. Tara Burke, spokeswoman of Bank of America states that customers must keep their passwords in a safe place. Clients must periodically review their accounts and they must also ensure that the bank has their updated contact information.