(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - The United States Secret Service plays a pivotal role in securing the nations financial infrastructure, specifically in the areas of cyber, banking and finance. Follow these tips to safeguard your online banking.
Maintain Complex Passwords: Develop lengthy and complex passwords. We strongly recommend that you use different passwords for social networking sites, email accounts and online banking sites. You should not use the same password for all of your respective devices and accounts.
Ensure Your Operating System Is Up-To-Date: Operating systems are usually configured to automatically update or at least prompt you that updates are available. You should not disable this feature. The majority of updates are released due to some type of security issue making it extremely important that you install the updates to ensure your computer has the latest protections known within the industry.
Install and Update Antivirus/Antispyware Software: Viruses and other malicious software programs can infect your personal computer without your knowledge. Ensuring that antivirus software from a reputable company is installed and set to update automatically will help protect your computer.
Carefully Scrutinize Email Attachments: It is good practice to never open or download an email attachment from someone you do not know or from someone that has rarely ever made contact with you. It is just as important to not open forwarded email attachments from someone you do know as he/she may have just unknowingly forwarded you an email attachment containing a virus or some other malicious software.
Statement of Rights for Victims of Identity Theft:
Source: U.S. Secret Service