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October is cybersecurity awareness month! Cybersecurity is a growing concern, and few things are as crucial to keep secure as your finances. Banks and their clients alike are susceptible to many kinds of breaches in security. As your financial institution you can rest assured that we spend significant time, money and resources to keep your accounts safe. Our staff is regularly trained on security procedures, and we are constantly improving and auditing our security systems. As they say, the best offense is a good defense. So what can you do to up your defense game? Follow these best practices:

1. Use a strong, unique password

We know that remembering dozens of different passwords can be a pain, but making sure your banking password is different than any other password you use is an important first step securing your finances. If hackers gain access to one password, the likelihood is high that they’ll see if you’ve used it elsewhere. Choose something that you can remember, but not something easy to guess like a birthday, child’s name or anything like “password123”. Having a long password with a mix of numbers, symbols, and letters (uppercase and lowercase) makes it harder to access your accounts.

2. Set up multifactor authentication (MFA)

Multifactor authentication adds another layer of security to your accounts by asking you to prove in more than one way that you are who you say you are. This commonly includes a password and a secondary means of authentication such as a verification code sent to your phone or email or inputting a code from a connected authenticator app such as Google Authenticator. Setting up MFA can be even more essential if you plan on viewing your accounts on a public device like a work or library computer.

3. Be suspicious of emails asking for account information

Hackers can be very convincing. A common way they gain access to your information is by sending an email that appears to be from someone you know or trust (like your bank) and asking you for your password or account information. This is called “phishing”. Check the email address to see if they are who they say they are, look for spelling errors or other oddities and most importantly know that your bank will NEVER email you asking for your password or account numbers. If you aren’t sure if an email is from your bank, call them directly and do not click on any links or download any documents.  

4. Don’t access your accounts on public Wi-Fi

Public Wi-Fi networks (like those in coffee shops and hotels) are often not as secure as your home Wi-Fi. Hackers can take advantage of that by targeting information shared over public networks. It’s always best of access your accounts on a device you can trust, on a network you can trust.

5. Keep an eye out for card skimmers

Hackers are always coming up with new ideas to try and steal your information. A popular one as of late is the use of card skimmers. These are devices that are planted over the top of card readers at places like ATMs and gas pumps. If the card reader looks different or out of place, check with an employee. Features like tap to pay/contactless payments are a great way to avoid card skimmers. All Idaho Trust Bank credit cards are equipped with Visa’s tap to pay technology.

6. Bank with a trusted institution

At Idaho Trust Bank we pride ourselves on being a relationship you can trust. Not only do we keep up to date with the latest trends in security and account protection, we employ expert bankers who are always ready and willing to answer any questions and help set you up for success in every way we can.  

Looking for more tips on how to spot a scammer? Follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn as we share cybersecurity tips throughout the month of October in partnership with the American Banking Association!