About 60 percent of adults in the U.S. owned smartphones as of December 2013, and half had used mobile banking in the past 12 months, according to a Federal Reserve Board survey in March. It’s evident accessing bank account information on the go is increasingly important to Americans. However, over the past few months, data breaches at major retailers such as Target and Kmart — and even national banks like Chase — have caused some conventional bank customers to think twice about how they access their financial information.
GOBankingRates recently polled 790 respondents to learn more about their concerns about digital banking. About 56 percent of respondents said they have concerns about online banking — and those fears span from identity theft to fraudulent apps.
Here’s a list of the six biggest fears Americans have about the growing digital presence of their banking information, as well how to avoid these problems if you’re worried they could happen to you.
1. Identity Theft
According to the poll, 37 percent of Americans said identity theft is their biggest fear about online banking, which is reasonable considering TransUnion reports about 19 people are victims of identity theft every minute. Identity theft can happen in many ways, but it commonly happens through fraudulent emails mimicking your bank’s credentials to lure sensitive information like your account numbers, Social Security number and more.
A simple rule of thumb is to report suspicious communications directly to your financial institution. Never click links within suspicious emails or provide personal information over the phone. Instead, look up your bank’s customer service phone number and call it directly. Remember, banks and credit unions typically do not reach out to customers asking for sensitive information via the Web or phone.
2. Technology Hiccups
Another digital banking worry that plagues nearly 9 percent of Americans is the fact that technology isn’t flawless. Those who rely on a paycheck-to-paycheck budget need payment transactions and deposits to reflect online in real time and with utmost accuracy. But accidental double charges and erroneous fees may create a domino effect of account overages.
Fortunately, customers facing these kinds of mishaps have the Federal Trade Commission on their side. The FTC allows customers to file a claim as much as 60 days from the statement month that has the incorrect charge. Financial institutions have 10 days to initiate an investigation and must update you of their findings 13 days after your claim date. If a bank wants a 45-day extension, it’s required to temporarily reimburse you the funds in question until the case is resolved.
3. Misuse of Information
Privacy policies and terms of use agreements are certainly accessible (they’re often provided to digital users electronically before gaining access to the tool or service in question), but these disclaimers are far from transparent, often buried by legal jargon and spanning more than 20 pages of text.
According to the GOBankingRates survey, 7 percent of online banking users worry their information could by misused by financial institutions and companies. However, simply reading through the terms and conditions can help spare anxiety over worrying about organizations using private data for dubious purposes. If you happen across a policy that you don’t agree with, you have the option of walking away and finding a competing service that has more agreeable privacy terms.
4. Lack of Documentation
About 3 percent of those polled said the lack of documentation is the most unnerving part of digital banking. However, it’s important to remember that paper statements aren’t entirely out of reach for customers with that preference. In addition to the benefit of reducing paper waste, bank account holders can monitor their funds 24/7, which means fraudulent charges, banking errors and other account activity can be spotted sooner rather than later.
A simple way to remember to check your account history is to set up a recurring alarm or reminder on your smartphone. Once a habit is developed, remembering to perform a quick scan of your income and outgoing funds can become a trusted way to keep you on track financially.
5. Lost or Stolen Phone
No matter where you are during your day, chances are you and your friends are within hands reach of your phones. The constant act of pulling your phone out of your pocket or purse increases the likelihood of accidentally losing your phone or getting it stolen when your attention is diverted.
With as many as 3.1 million smartphone thefts last year, according to Consumer Reports, activating detection services, like Apple’s Find My iPhone app or Android’s Device Manager, can help authorities track down a missing phone.
6. Fake Smartphone Apps
Another fear among online banking customers is accidentally downloading a fake banking app posing as the bank or credit union’s “official” app. Before downloading anything, make sure you’re shopping for apps on a trusted source, such as Apple’s App Store or Google Play for Android users. Another surefire way to download your bank’s legitimate smartphone app: Find it on the bank’s website.
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The 6 Biggest Fears Americans Have About Online Banking originally appeared on usnews.com
