Take this assessment to find out how secure your online banking practices are.
Start
1. Do you have two-factor authentication enabled?
Yes
No
That's not best practice.
Security tip: If you don't already have it activated, turning on two-factor authentication is the quickest way to secure your online accounts. It provides an additional layer of protection from fraud actors.
2. Are you set up to have Interac e-transfers auto deposited?
Yes
No
That's not best practice.
Security tip: Registering for auto-deposit ensures the money goes into your specified account, protecting it from fraud actors who may gain access to your email accounts.
3. Do you use a passphrase instead of a password? For example, “Hand$offmyca$h” instead of “cash”.
Yes
No
That's not best practice.
Security tip: Using passphrases, numbers, symbols and capitalized letters to create a password increases the number of potential combinations fraud actors need to run through to guess it.
4. Do you use the same password for your online banking password on other websites?
Yes
That's not best practice.
Security tip: Your online bank account login should be unique. Fraud actors can use hacked passwords from one platform to gain access to accounts on other sites.
5. Does anyone else, including your partner, know your online banking login information?
Yes
That's not best practice.
Security tip: Sharing can be caring, but not when it comes to sensitive information. When you share your login information with a spouse or family member, you increase your chances of being hacked, especially if the other person is hacked or misplaces their device.
6. Are the answers to your security questions personal to you? For example, what was your childhood pet's name?
Yes
No
That's not best practice.
Security tip: Fraud actors can troll social media accounts for information, such as security question answers, that can help them access your banking account. With highly personal challenge questions in place, hackers are more likely to abandon their login attempts.
7. Do you log out of all your applications, including your online banking, after you use them?
Yes
No
That's not best practice.
Security tip: Logging out immediately guarantees that no one can see your account number or the transactions you’ve made. Not only should you log out of your account, but you should also ensure the device you use to access your online banking is password protected.