A beginner’s guide to fending off hackers and scammers: Part 5 – Monitoring your bank account

It’s fair to say that most hackers and scammers are financially motivated, so it is very important that, if you think there is any chance you could have been targeted by these people, you should monitor your back account on a regular basis.

Of course, this is sensible advice for anyone who has both a bank account and an online presence because you may not know that your data has been breached until it is too late, and your bank account has been emptied or your credit card maxed out.

Check statements

The simplest way of monitoring your bank account to look out for fraud is to check your account balance and your bank and credit card statements on a regular basis – we would recommend weekly, at the very least – because this will enable you to identify any suspicious activity and have it dealt with swiftly.

Check your credit report

If you are worried about the potential for hackers and scammers to use your details to obtain credit, one of the best things to do is to sign up with a credit reporting agency, such as Experian, so that you can keep an eye out for any suspicious activity on your report.

Credit monitoring and fraud alerts

If you are really serious about putting the hackers and scammers out of business and protecting your finances, then you simply must sign up to a credit monitoring or fraud alert service, which will alert you at the first signs of any potentially fraudulent activity on any of your accounts.

By doing all three of the above, you can ensure that you are as protected as it’s possible to be, whilst still enjoying the freedoms that come with online banking, shopping and browsing.