{"id":20529,"date":"2020-03-18T11:08:09","date_gmt":"2020-03-18T15:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/?p=20529"},"modified":"2022-04-27T14:52:56","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T18:52:56","slug":"is-it-safe-to-pay-bills-by-phone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/is-it-safe-to-pay-bills-by-phone\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it Safe to Pay Bills by Phone?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s common for people to prefer online banking without the need for commuting and delays in waiting in line at the ATM or bank nowadays. In the digital world, everything (or almost everything) can be solved with just one click. However, this can leave you vulnerable to online attacks. <\/span>Find out if it\u2019s safe to pay bills by mobile and learn expert tips to stay protected.<\/b><\/p>\n

Is it Safe to Pay Bills by Phone?<\/b><\/h2>\n

According to Emilio Simoni, director of <\/span>dfndr lab – a laboratory specialized in digital security<\/b><\/a> – your bank\u2019s website has tools to ensure the security of transactions like double authentication, virtual keyboards, and encryption. Simoni says, “However, despite these security mechanisms, banking sites can also be hacked by cybercriminals, which create breaches and leave customers vulnerable to scams and identity theft.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Why is a Mobile Phone a Target?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Simoni says it\u2019s much easier for a hacker to break into and infect a mobile phone than a bank\u2019s webpage, as security is relatively more complex and difficult to break into. Fake banking or phishing banking pages and apps are among the top pitfalls designed to trick people.<\/span><\/p>\n

How Does Banking Phishing Work?<\/b><\/h2>\n

To increase phishing effectiveness, cybercriminals use social engineering, which is a strategy to convince and encourage a person to do a certain action.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more: What Are Sextors?<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Banking phishing begins with the creation of a fake website or app that is almost identical to the bank’s official version. After a user provides their data such as account number, tokens, and passwords, it\u2019s common for hackers to stage a weak connection or launch a lockup alert on the victim\u2019s screen, causing someone to reload the page without realizing that the attack has already taken place.<\/span><\/p>\n

How Can I Protect Myself?<\/b><\/h2>\n

To learn how not to become a victim anymore, check out the tips selected by dfndr lab experts on how to safely pay bills on your mobile phone.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beware of Incoming Messages<\/b><\/p>\n

No legitimate bank will communicate with you via SMS, notification, or email. Many criminals send fraudulent messages to mislead users, so never, ever provide credit card numbers, account passwords, or any other banking information. When you receive this type of message, ignore it immediately and, if possible, contact your bank to confirm that everything is in order. Also, don’t click on links sent by unknown senders. When in doubt, <\/span>you can check whether it is safe or not with a reliable link detector.<\/b><\/p>\n

Use Trusted Internet Networks<\/b><\/p>\n

If you connect to an unknown open Wi-Fi network, you become vulnerable because it\u2019s always possible for that type of connection to be compromised.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGive preference to private networks like home or work. If you really need to do some emergency online banking away from home, <\/span>consider using a good VPN app for your phone<\/b> to ensure anonymous and secure browsing, \u201dexplains Simoni.<\/span><\/p>\n

Check Apps You Download<\/b><\/p>\n

A variety of malware masquerades as banking applications that are identical to official ones. \u201cIn this situation, the victim provides confidential data to a system that he or she believes to be reliable when it\u2019s actually perpetrated by a cybercriminal. That’s why it’s essential to check reviews before downloading any apps. If you see a lot of negative comments, do a Google search to make sure it’s a safe app, \u201dwarns Simoni.<\/span><\/p>\n

Keep a Good Antivirus Installed<\/b><\/p>\n

According to dfndr lab experts, no mobile operating system is truly safe. This means that cybercriminals will always try to find loopholes to exploit. That\u2019s why it\u2019s essential to keep a security app installed, such as <\/span>dfndr security<\/b>.<\/span><\/a> It can alert you against <\/span>scams, data leaks, fake websites, viruses, and identity theft. <\/b>dfndr security is also the only security app that offers real-time protection against attacks on WhatsApp, Messenger, Browsers, and SMS. <\/span>You can download dfndr security for free here<\/b><\/a>.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nowadays, going to the bank has become a thing of the past. But is it safe to pay bills by phone? Find out now!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":20536,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[12400,12401],"class_list":["post-20529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-security","tag-is-it-safe-to-pay-bills-by-phone","tag-pay-bills"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20529"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20537,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20529\/revisions\/20537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}