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Digital technology has exceptionally changed the world we live in today. The innovations continue to become more advanced, so we are all forced to keep up if we don’t want to be left out.
The transformation in finance is likewise undeniable. If you want to send money online today, it’s as simple as logging into your chosen finance app and sending money to your loved ones. But together with convenience comes the risk. And if you’re not vigilant enough, you might lose all that money you worked hard for.
Knowing how to transfer money online safely is important to protect yourself from monetary loss as well as identity theft since both of these are hard to recover from. Here are seven sure ways to help you ensure you’re sending money online safely:
Always check with the person you’re sending it to
No matter how urgent it sounds, always check with the person you’re sending the money to. Scam messages are very rampant today, and if you’re not vigilant enough, you might get tricked easily with a simple emergency message.
Checking in with the person will help you identify if the message you received is fraud or not, whether it’s a simple text message, an online message, or even a call. Expert scammers today know what they are doing, and their modus operandi might just get the best out of you if you’re not careful.
Always comply with your money transfer provider
Money transfer companies have their own rules and regulations to make sure their clients are protected. You may find it arduous to go through their whole process, but in the long run, you’ll be thankful for your patience.
Whether that’s setting up a difficult password or providing several requirements, make sure you comply with everything to ensure safe transactions. You’ll be made aware of their regulatory and legal requirements once you decide to create an account with them.
Create a strong password
Just like it’s recommended for your email or your social accounts, it’s equally important to create a strong password for your money transfer needs, whichever provider you choose or platforms you use. Creating a strong password will defend you from unauthorized access and sending money to people you don’t know. It will also be your line of defense for protecting your personal information.
As usual, don’t use your personal information when creating a password – not your name, your birthday, or your email address. Make sure it’s long, includes numbers and special characters, and has lowercase and uppercase letters. Consider random passwords that are generated by apps.
Don’t use the same logins for all your accounts
When you use the same logins for all your accounts, everything will be vulnerable when one is hacked. You might lose all your money, and you might suffer from identity theft as well. And next thing you know, your name is being dragged in all different places.
Don’t think one platform is less important simply because it’s a shopping platform, for example, because you never know what people can do if they know your complete name, birthday, or address, or you might have forgotten that you saved your credit card info in there. That’s a shopping spree any hacker wouldn’t pass on.
Don’t send money to people you don’t know
Although doing money transfers is quite common today, especially when you’re online shopping, you still need to be vigilant about it. If you could avoid it as much as possible or choose another option, do it. You’ll never know if you’re being scammed until it happens.
If you need to send money to India, China, Nepal, Sri Lanka, or any other country, make sure you’re getting what you paid for, whether it’s a product or a service. On some occasions, you can’t always get what you want without paying for it, so make sure you do your due diligence before sending any amount of money.
Protect your account at all times
Keeping your account safe at all times is a must, and that includes your usernames, passwords, emails, pins, contact numbers, etc. When all these are protected, rest assured your money is secure.
One way to protect these is to keep them in a secure place, whether on your personal computer, cellphone, or an actual piece of paper, whatever you think is most convenient. Also, never share this data with anyone. It’s always a top reminder to keep your account secure.
Setup a two-factor authentication
Check with your money transfer provider if it’s possible to set up two-factor authentication (2FA). If they don’t have that feature, maybe it’s best to look for another provider that has one because security is heightened when you have 2FA.
It’s easy to set up, and you only need to provide your phone number, or in some cases, your voice for voice recognition, or your face ID or fingerprint for your phone. Although 2FAs are not failproof, it’s always safer to have them set up than not at all.
