Technology plays a vital role in banking today, offering convenience and access to services like EFTs (Electronic Funds Transfers), purchasing electricity, airtime, and even making international purchases. However, as banking moves increasingly online, the security of client data and transactions becomes more critical. Advanced encryption, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and real-time fraud detection systems are essential in ensuring the safety of users' financial activities.
Banks are continuously doing their utmost best adapt to emerging cybersecurity threats, balancing the convenience of tech with the robustness needed to protect users from potential fraud and data breaches. It’s a delicate balance, but when executed well, it allows clients to enjoy the benefits of modern banking with confidence.
While technology has made banking more convenient, it has also introduced more opportunities for fraud. In the past, a one-time PIN (OTP) sent via SMS or email was a common security measure to verify transactions. However, as fraud techniques have become more sophisticated, financial institutions have been adopting more advanced security features
A key issue is to vigilant in the digital age, especially with the rise of fraud scams that often target unsuspecting individuals through SMS, email, or other online channels. Phishing scams, where fraudsters impersonate legitimate organizations to steal sensitive information, are especially common.
Chris Boxall, Head of Card Transact, Industry and Fraud Detection at FNB says, “Legitimate banks will never ask for this information through text, mail, or even social media platforms such as WhatsApp, so if you do receive a message requesting it, it's fraud. Always verify the source and legitimacy of any requests for personal information before responding.”
“We encourage customers not to click on links from suspicious SMSes, e-mails, or share their private information like OTPs, PINs, or passwords with any third-party whatsoever. We also encourage our customers to minimise using third-party platforms to authenticate transactions and instead do it safely and conveniently on our FNB App through Two-Factor Authentication,” he says.
FNB provides a more secure method of safeguarding your money when making purchases online, through Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), an online secure authentication system that helps merchants or individual customers review and authenticate their online purchases on the FNB App.
“In line with our commitment to empower and safeguard our customers against online shopping fraud, we strongly encourage them to make use of Two-Factor Authentication when making online purchases. This will protect cardholders against the unauthorised use of their FNB cards for online purchases while also protecting e-commerce businesses against financial loss from online fraud,” he continues.
FNB’s Smart inContact tool is the bank’s recommended 2FA mechanism which uses smart technology via its banking app to authenticate customers securely. If the customer does not have a banking App or does not respond to the push message to approve their online purchase, they will receive an OTP via SMS and by logging onto online banking messaging. Receiving OTPs via e-mail is discontinued in line with the bank’s strategy for safety measures.
“Mitigating risk continues to be an extremely crucial factor in payments and so we continuously innovate to enhance security in a multi-layered approach. While Two-Factor Authentication is one of the layers we utilise to protect customers from fraud, it is important that they remain vigilant on their account activity and always review what they are authenticating to ensure they are not being de-frauded,” concludes Boxall.
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