The number of households using electronic billing and payment is
quickly growing. In fact, "According to the financial
information management company FISERV, the number of American
households paying bills online has doubled …up from 15.3 million in
2004 to more than 36 million last year." Source. With
the number of people using electronic billing and payment
increasing year to year, it isn't a surprise that security becomes
a forefront concern.
Even though electronic billing and payment is now very secure
(SmartPay is PCI compliant; if you missed our blog on that, check
it out here).
It is still important to take extra precautions when securing your
personal information online. Here are 5 simple steps to
ensure extra security.
- If you print off statements for your records, shred
them. Even users of electronic billing and payment
may print something off every now and then-and sometimes it is hard
to remember to shred the information if you aren't used to paper
bills anymore. But it is important to make an effort to do
this, as the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates about 9 million
Americans are affected by identity theft every year . Learn
more about identity theft
here.
- Never respond to e-mails requesting important personal
information. Phishing and hackers are major, valid
concerns in today's Internet-driven society, and any legitimate
company with which you do business will never request important
personal information via e-mail. If you receive a suspicious
e-mail, be sure to contact a representative of your bank or of the
business for which the hacker may be pretending to pose.
- Check your online accounts regularly. It
is important to keep an eye on your bank account, as well as any
online shopping accounts or other online accounts. Staying on
top of your purchases and information will help you notice right
away if there seems to be any tampering with or fraudulent
purchases toward your accounts.
Keep your computer secure. Make sure
your computer and information is kept secure, and try to do all of
your online financial business and bill paying at your home.
Don't take your laptop to a public place (i.e.; a restaurant,
the local coffee shop) to do your bill paying, as there is more
risk if you are connecting to a network you don't know is secure or
if you are around a lot of people.
- Make your passwords strong. Don't use
the same password for multiple accounts, and don't write your
passwords down. Make them long in length and very unique;
using special characters and a combination of upper and lower case
letters helps. Change your passwords regularly. Every
3-4 weeks is an ideal span of time, and be sure it isn't a password
that someone would easily be able to guess.
Following these and other simple guidelines will help you keep
your information more secure, and will make the use of online
accounts and online bill paying much more enjoyable!