Safeguard your bank account

The Lethbridge Police Service is advising residents to take steps to safeguard their bank accounts following an increase in reports of suspicious transactions involving compromised accounts.

Scammers are accessing bank accounts in a variety of ways, including phone SIM swaps, victims giving fraudsters remote access to their computers, victims unknowingly clicking on fraudulent links or advertisements, malware and in some cases personal information is compromised long before scammers actually log into their accounts.

In order to protect your account, the following preventative measures are recommended:

• Use unique passwords for every account
  • Ensure each password is strong using a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols
  • Don’t use personal information in a password (i.e. pet's name)
  • Consider using a password manager
  • Update your passwords on a regular basis
  • Use strategic answers for security questions
• Use multi-factor authentication
  • Multiple layers of defense are better than one
    
    
• Be cautious with public Wi-Fi as networks are not always safe to use especially if you are required to login to bank accounts
  
  
• Update apps and software regularly
  • Hackers search for security holes in systems and take advantage of out of date technology
    
    
• Install ad blockers
  
  • “Malvertising,” is when cybercriminals create ads infected with malicious codes, which can leave your bank account exposed. Once you click on the infected ad, malware may be downloaded to your device that can potentially steal information about your identity
  • An ad blocker may protect potential victims
• Use security features and tools provided by your bank
  
  • When you maximize the security features your bank provides it’s easier to keep your sensitive information safe
  • Set up alerts for your bank account such as purchases and profile changes so you will be notified and can take immediate action for unauthorized activity