Your online accounts contain valuable personal and financial information, making them an important target for scammers and cybercriminals. The good news is that a few simple habits and the right tools can go a long way toward keeping your information and accounts more secure. Start with these simple steps to strengthen your account security:
Start with a strong password or passphrase that is difficult to guess, and use a different password for each of your important accounts. Reusing passwords can put multiple accounts at risk if your login information for one account is compromised.
Consider using a reputable password manager to help you create and securely store unique passwords.
Multi-factor authentication, or MFA, adds another layer of protection by requiring an additional verification step when you log in. Even if someone obtains your password, MFA can help prevent them from gaining access to your account. MFA can also tip you off to an unauthorized attempt to access your account if you receive a verification code you weren’t expecting.
And remember: Never share a verification code sent to your phone or email with someone who contacts you unexpectedly.
Keeping an eye on account activity is a good habit to help you identify something unusual quickly. Within Digital Banking, you can also customize alerts to help you monitor your accounts and cards.
Here’s how to set alerts up:
Once logged in, in our Mobile Banking App, select the Main Menu, or in Online Banking, select your name at top. Then select Settings and Manage Alerts for options. From there you can customize the alerts you want to receive.
Card controls available within Digital Banking give you another simple way to help protect your accounts. Card controls allow you to restrict how and where your card can be used, while alerts notify you about card activity based on the preferences you set. Controls are designed to prevent certain transactions from occurring, while alerts help you monitor activity and identify potentially unusual purchases.
Log in to Online Banking or our Mobile Banking App to customize transition settings for your debit or credit card and set up alerts to stay informed about card activity. Here’s how you can access these controls on either platform:
Once logged in, in our Mobile Banking app, select the Cards icon at bottom or select Cards from the main menu. Then choose Controls & Alerts under the Manage Card section, near the bottom. For Online Banking, one logged in, select the Manage Card option at top and choose Controls & Alerts.
Control Preferences fall into five categories:
Tailor your Alert Preferences to your spending patterns and use them to notify you of unusual purchases via the Mobile Baking App. Alert preferences fall into four categories: Locations, Merchant Types, Transaction Types and Spend Limits.
Additional card management tools are also available within Digital Banking. If you have misplaced your card or suspect your account has been compromised, you can toggle your card off temporarily in Online Banking or our Mobile Banking App in the Cards section. If your card has been lost or stolen, you can also report your missing card in the Cards section.
Your financial accounts aren’t the only place where identity theft may appear. Someone using your personal information to apply for credit could create an inquiry or account on your credit report before you realize anything is wrong. Monitoring your credit can be an important part of protecting your identity.
Every Southern Energy member has free access to their credit score and full credit report through our Credit Score tool, conveniently located within Online Banking and our Mobile Banking App. Using the tool won’t impact your credit score, and you can enroll in real-time credit monitoring alerts to help you spot potential fraud or identity theft. Learn more here.
Protecting your accounts doesn’t have to be complicated. Strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, account alerts and card controls as well as monitoring your credit can all work together to add important layers of protection. Take a few minutes today to review the security settings on your accounts and make sure you’re taking advantage of the tools available to help keep your financial information secure.
Read more digital banking security tips here.
Your online accounts contain valuable information, making them an important target for scammers and cybercriminals. A few simple habits and the right tools can go a long way toward keeping your information and accounts more secure.
You are about to visit a third-party website that is not operated or controlled by Southern Energy Credit Union. Southern Energy Credit Union is not responsible for the content, products, or services available through the third-party website. The third party's privacy and security policies may differ from ours. Please review the site’s policies for further information.
