Luckily there are many precautions you can take to help minimize the risk of your online bank account being compromised, including using strong passwords and multi-factor authentication, and being vigilant against phishing scams. However, with fraudsters becoming more technologically advanced every day, there is still the possibility of someone gaining unauthorized access to your account.
The good news is that knowing what to do if you suspect your bank account has been hacked can help you minimize the damage and potential loss of funds.
1. Be familiar with signs of a compromise. You’ve likely heard how important it is to log into your online banking account regularly to review activity. This is because the faster you identify a compromise, the more likely you are to resolve it. Check your account for any unauthorized transactions, including withdrawals and scheduled or recent transfers. You should also be on the lookout for address changes, failed login attempts, or password resets. In some cases, your bank may recognize suspicious activity on their end and contact you to verify it. Just remember to never provide any sensitive personal or account information via a phone call, email, or text message. When in doubt, call your bank directly to discuss any strange activity on your account.
2. Confirm that there actually is a compromise. While it’s important to be vigilant when reviewing your account activity, keep in mind that sometimes an odd-looking transaction could be legitimate. Some businesses use different names to process payments. Cross check any recent purchases with your receipts or order confirmations. Sometimes a quick Google search of the transaction name could help you recognize it.
3. Contact your bank immediately. You can limit potential loss of funds if you take action as soon as you notice suspicious activity in your bank account. Generally, if you report unauthorized bank transactions within 48 hours, your liability will be limited to $50. However, if you wait months to report fraudulent activity, you may not be able to recover any of your funds. After you notify your bank, they will likely either freeze or close the account pending their investigation.
4. Determine the extent of the damage. If you notice suspicious activity in one of your bank accounts, check your other accounts, especially those at the same financial institution. And if you were using similar login information for other accounts or services, you should check those as well to ensure they weren’t also compromised. If you discover a compromise in any of your accounts you should also check your email account to ensure it hasn’t been accessed by anyone but you. If someone gains access to your email account they can potentially commandeer other accounts by requesting password resets.
5. Change your passwords, and security questions. If you notice suspicious activity in your bank account, change your password as soon as possible. If you were using a similar password for any of your other accounts you should change those as well. In the future, ensure that you’re not using the same password with multiple accounts. In addition to resetting your password, if your bank account has security questions enabled, you should update those as well.
6. Check your credit report. Depending on what information was visible in your account, the fraudster who gained access may try to open other accounts in your name. Review your credit report to ensure that no unauthorized credit inquiries have been made, and that there are no accounts listed that you don’t recognize.
7. File a police report. If money has been fraudulently taken from your account through an unauthorized withdrawal or transfer, you should file a police report and obtain a copy. While there may not be much that the police can do to find the person who hacked into your account, having a record of the theft will be helpful as you work with your bank to get your money back. You should also consider reporting the compromise to the Federal Trade Commission. While the FTC does not help resolve individual cases of fraud, they do track each reported instance in an effort to fight fraud and warn other consumers about current scams and waves of fraudulent activity.
At BankFive, we’re committed to keeping our customers up to date on the latest scam attempts and arming them with the tools they need to keep their accounts safe. While the threat of phishing attacks and compromised login credentials will likely always exist, you can help limit the risk of an account compromise by using strong passwords and multi-factor authentication, and never giving your information to a scammer. For more tips on keeping your finances safe, review the latest scams on our Security Alerts page and read the latest tips in our security-focused blog articles.
