Page 49 - August 2016 Newsletter

Steps for safer banking
Online banking is here to stay. However, even if you are still resisting the convenience of banking online, your sensitive information and your assets are still at risk. This was made very clear in the recent data breach at Nation- wide.
According to a recent study, 80 percent of U.S. households do their banking online. Of course, online banking is also the num-
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your log in credentials and use them to access and empty your account.
Do not click on any link in any unsolicited email. Do not use a public computer or WiFi on your mo- bile devices when making financial transactions or communicating with your financial institution. Both are extremely vulnerable for attacks.
The next line of defense must come when you are initiating the contact. A strong, encrypted pass- word is essential. Your FOP Benefits Plan provid- er Lastpass provides free desktop encryption and password storage, and for $1 per month it is avail-
able for your mobile devices.
• Look for important protections provided by your financial institution, which are essential today, courtesy of Malwarebyte Labs.
Use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) websites. Look for the “https” in the URL; this means the information you are passing from your desktop or mobile de- vice will remain private and protected.
Enable automatic time out sessions that log out your account after a certain period of inactivity. It might be irritating at times and seem like a hassle, but welcome it as a necessary protection.
Use fingerprint scanning. You might have it already on your log options for your mobile device, and it has arrived for banking security.
Enable two-factor identification. You provide a password and then receive a text verifying that you were the person who requested access.
Use banking apps. Download the official app for your bank and use this when you transact business. Adopt fraud monitoring. Many financial institu- tions provide this service, however you absolutely should have it yourself. Your FOP Benefits Plan pro- vider Identity Shield provides this service, as well as 24/7 monitoring, credit freeze, account alerts and $5 million worth of protection and investigation costs. There is no reason not to have this protec- tion, as the FOP rate is only $8.95 per month. See the contact information below to access.
TOM TUOHY
ber-one target of cyber thieves. You can and must take protective steps – and this is true even if you still bank the old fashioned way.
What can you do?
The most common tactic thieves use to separate you from your savings is pretending to be your bank. Here’s how to combat this tactic:
FOP
Benefits Plan
• Do not provide any financial or personal informa- tion to anyone who calls you at home or on your cell, until you have called that person back and ver- ified his or her identity.
• Do not reply to any unsolicited email, even if it has your financial institution’s logo on it.
• Do not reply to any text requesting sensitive in- formation. Often, as in the widespread JP Morgan scam, a login screen will be provided. It will be identical to the one you use. And it will capture
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48 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ AUGUST 2016
There is no turning back. Online banking conve- nience is here to stay and with it comes online thieves. We shouldn’t shy away from the technology, we just need to be aware and apply the security essentials that complement the convenience. For Lastpass and Identity Shield information please visit your FOP Benefits Plan. Registration for FOP members is free. Visit www.fopbene- fitsplan.com or call 866-729-5454 for assistance with reg- istering. d
Tom Tuohy is the founder of Tuohy Law Offices and the FOP Benefits Plan. He has been a police lawyer for 33 years. His father was a CPD detective and his grandfather was CPD Chief of Major Crimes. Tom can be reached at 312-559-8400.