Are You Sure Regions Online Banking is Secure?
Free Online Banking is only ten years old and like all computer generated conveniences it can be dangerous. Convenience does not come free nor does it come cheap. There is nothing that is more convenient than Regions Online Banking. We shop, pay our bills, transfer moneys from one account to another, and more, all in the name of convenience. But is Regions Online Banking secure?
Regions Online Banking is convenient.
There was a time when we paid out utility bills by getting up in the morning, getting dressed and making our way to the individual utility offices to pay the bill. Then we started to write checks to pay the bills but that kept us from using the bank account until the checks cleared. Those of us that are mathematically challenged could never figure out our bank balance until the checks were cashed. We did not use the bank account because we feared an overdraft. Now we can stay home and in a matter of minutes pay all our utility bills and know our bank balance.
Is the Internet regulated or is Regions Free Online Banking really Free ?
The Regions Online Banking is safe to the extent that the banks are regulated. Unfortunately, the Internet is neither regulated nor is it policed. For that reason there are many hackers that can get into your account and1 play havoc with it. A good example: a hacker can send a virus to many computers, draw money from several accounts and put the money into overseas accounts. These accounts are not easy to find and get into. When you do find it, it takes a lawsuit to get your money back. That is, if anything is left of the money once you pay for searches and attorneys.
Put your own free online banking safeguards in place.
Do we know if Regions Online Banking is secure? No, but we can make it more secure by placing our own safeguards in place. Keep identifying information out of the reach of identity thieves and hackers. Do not publish your social security number where it can be publicly seen. Make strong passwords. A strong password is one that is not associated with your name, address, or career. It should have both letters and numbers. Do not keep the same password in any one location for a long time. Change passwords regularly.
Do not answer emails, presumably from your bank, addressed to “Dear Customer.” Your Regions bank would probably use a more personal address such as “Dear (your name)” One of the things that these emails generally look for are your bank account number, social security number, and password. If the email is truly from your Regions Online Banking, bank, they will not ask you for any of this information, they already have it. If they are doubtful about it; they would ask you to come into the bank to verify and/or change this information. Emails such as these should be reported to the bank.
Referring customers to third parties:
If your free online banking is going to transfer you to a third party it should be a secure transfer. If you don’t feel that it is, then find out who the party is and contact them yourself.. If the transfer is initially not secure then your personal banking information can fall through the cracks into the awaiting arms of a hacker, scammer, or identity thief.