Mobile fraud
The risks to members of mobile fraud are similar to other types of online fraud. Fraudsters try to obtain information through various means on your mobile device (tablets, smartphones and more) to access your personal and account information. For instance, smishing is phishing on phones through text messages.
Online banking from your mobile device including smartphones means the convenience of on-the-go banking perks like checking account balances, viewing account activity, paying bills and transferring funds. Vancity offers a number of ways to bank using your mobile devices, including mobile banking by text, and the Vancity Mobile app .
You should treat your mobile security as seriously as you would your home computer. While banking in the palm of your hand in real time is fast and convenient, there are a few simple steps you must take to protect yourself and your important information.
What we do to protect you
Mobile banking for smartphones uses the same personal access features as our online banking. Log in using the same last 10 digits on your MEMBER CARD® debit card, and password you use for online banking at vancity.com. However, it's easier for a smartphone to be lost or stolen than your home computer.
Top five steps you can take to protect yourself
- Make sure you use the password protection offered on your mobile device. Many newer mobile devices come with built-in password protection to lock your device if it is ever lost or stolen. You must enable this, and set the device to lock within the shortest time-out period, to help protect you if the unfortunate occurs.
- Never store confidential personal information on your mobile device.
- Disable Bluetooth when not in use. Although Bluetooth may make it easier (and safer) to talk at times, hackers can take advantage of an always-on setting.
- Check out what software your phone provider offers to protect against viruses and online hazards, and use antivirus, encryption and firewalls whenever possible.
- Think before you download an application. Before you download apps on your devices, read the privacy policy so you know what data an app can access.
For more information on protecting yourself from mobile fraud, visit our full section on .
