With the #onlinebanking comes a series of undeniable advantages and benefits, which over time have made our daily life easier. But let's not forget about safety in the online environment! Precisely for this reason we have prepared a list of good practices to keep your data and money safe.

1. Increased attention to e-mails received 📧



🔸 Never access files received by mail from unknown sources

Although during a day we all receive a lot of e-mails, either from friends, acquaintances or from different companies, a good practice is to filter those messages that have a file attached and come from people or companies you have never heard of. Most cyber viruses are spread as files attached to emails you receive from unknown sources.

Therefore, if you enter the mailbox a message that announces that you must open the attachment in the shortest possible time, being an emergency, and you do not know the sender would be best to delete that mail, including from Trash.

🔸 A suspicious email

A very important thing to take into account in your relationship with us is not to open emails that seem to be from BT, but they are not. If you see in your Inbox an email that comes with the slightest suspicion, it is best to contact us. Whether you do it directly on the site,at the address contact@btrl.ro or at the phone number 0264 30 80 28, until you manage to get in touch with us, under no circumstances not to open the attached file or follow the links in such an email. You'll still find out why 😊.

🔸 Phishing – the method of e-mail theft

Phishing is a method of identity theft that tries to obtain, from the clients of a company, personal or confidential data. They can then be used illegally by malicious persons to make transactions right into your account.

How does phishing work?

Think of an electronic message sent to hundreds of thousands of recipients (yes, yes, without exaggeration) that claim to be from a legitimate source, such as Banca Transilvania, in our case. Many times the title of the message is designed in such a way as to attract your attention, for example "Important message – Updating your personal data".

In most cases, the content of the phishing message is formulated in such a way that you feel compelled to comply with the request, such as: "The impossibility to confirm the details of the online account will lead to its permanent suspension".

Most frequently, you will be asked to enter confidential data using a link to a site indicated in the text of the message. This link will direct you to a fake website, but which reproduces very well the original page – in our case, the website of Transilvania Bank or the e-Banking product used.

When you choose to enter your personal data in such a fake site and validate them, malicious persons take possession of personal data and can use them to carry out operations in your bank account.

❗ Remember:We will never send you messages through electronic channels such as e-mail, social media or on your phone number, which include links to sites where you are asked to enter information on your personal identity, accounts, card number, expiration date, PIN or other banking products and services owned. Exception is the SMS message that you send on the phone number to access the application BT Visual Help.

2. Eliminate vulnerabilities of your devices 💻



The most useful way to always keep your personal devices safe is through constant updates. Specifically, do you know those pop-ups that you get from the operating system in which it tells you that "the software has updates available"? Well, the first instinct is to opt for the option of demanating the installation because that takes you away from the time. Isn't it?

Unfortunately, it's not exactly the best decision because at that moment you leave a door open to cyber attackers who will have access to your private data, putting you in danger of having your identity stolen or of having your money taken from your account. Even if at the moment you do not think it's too important thing is good to know that these updates are vital precisely because they include updates of possible security breaches, both operating systems and browsers (basically the main vulnerabilities that aggressorsvirtuali are looking for when they want to attack your computer).

Also, install a high-performance anti-malware program to always protect your computer and make him an update as many times as needed. Such a program will keep your computer safe all the time, keeping both your files and your personal data at the shelter.

Some anti-malware products also include special features that have been integrated to protect you even when you are shopping online or accessing banking sites. Therefore, choose the right one for your needs and look at it as a long-term investment in your safety.

3. Always check the URL 🔒



When you visit a site that asks you to enter your confidential data, even at a simple login, carefully check the URL of the page, so that it coincides with the page you want to access. If the URL contains a series of random digits and numbers or looks suspicious from any point of view, under no circumstances does it enter your information. For added security, it is best to always type in the URL, especially when it comes to accessing your bank accounts.

4. Caring for your phone 📱



Avoid using devices whose operational system has been modified (root-at or jail-break-forget from the official version) as this operation changes or in some cases even eliminates the security measures implemented by the manufacturer, exposing yourself to additional risks. As much as possible, keep your device's operating system updated with the latest security patches and upgrades. We also recommend using an anti-virus application. You just know what it's like, you can never be safe enough, so it's best to take advantage of all the methods that are at your fingertips!

5. Online payments 🛒



🔸 Eye on HTTPs

Make sure that when you make a payment or access a site where you need to enter your personal data for logging in, the connection is encrypted. You can easily notice this by checking the URL link. If it starts with the letters "https" and in front of it is the image of a closed nocle, it means that the connection is a verified one, so therefore, you are safe. In order for there is no doubt, click on the key and check the SSL authentication certificate that was granted to the site. Through this action you will find out exact data about the company to which the certificate was issued, the period during which it was issued, who approved it and until it is valid.

🔸 Use your own internet connection

Try as much as possible to use your own internet connection, be it given through data or Wi-Fi, when you access your bank account, use banking applications or you want to shop online. In addition, to be sure that no one else manages to access your internet connection, it is preferable to have a complex password that only you know.

When it comes to the public Wi-Fi network, everything becomes a little more complicated, because real risks can arise, such as traffic interception by third parties who can easily steal your confidential data such as: credentials, instant messages and e-mails.

Even if it seems a little more complicated at first, choose to secure your accounts through complex passwords and in no case not to use the same password for all accounts. We know, sometimes it can be convenient to have a unique password, but when it comes to the safety of your money, it is best to be cautious all the time.

🔸 Unknown Sites Should Be Verified

Good guard passes the bad danger! So, if you have found a new site that has interesting products and you are thinking of making a purchase, but still the uncertainty of the first contact with the online store appears, we propose you to consider two options to be 100% safe.

The first one is to opt for the cash on delivery payment, so that you pay the value of the package when it reaches you and you can check it. If there is no such option, the second option is to check the site. In other words, write in the search engine "Whols' IP Service" and start a short investigation. All you have to do is copy the URL of the online store and check it through such a tool. You will quickly find out data such as: the IP address and its location, how long the site and the company that owns it is in operation, and then you can make a much better informed decision.

6. Extra 🔔 safety



For added safety, we recommend you and SMS Alertservice. Basically, with its help you can track the activity on your bank account 24h/24 directly on your mobile phone. You see in real time all the transactions made on your BT cards on the same phone number and in this way you can stay calm because you have total control over the operations made.

We want to know you safely all the time, precisely for this reason we recommend you to report in the shortest possible time problems regarding the security of your information to *8028 or 0264-308028   or by sending us an e-mail to the contact@btrl.ro.

Editor: Mihaela Ban, Communication & PR Officer, Banca Transilvania