All eggs in one basket - Internet security.

tiptoes27

Hello
I have my bank account and credit card and savings all with the same bank (Nationwide). I did this for simplicity and because the have been with Nationwide for many years and find their service excellent. Also you get slightly higher savings rates if you bank with them. However my husband is now getting worried about Internet security. I use online banking and he says if they manage to get access to one of our accounts they will have access to them all. He wants me to have the savings and current accounts with different banks and the credit card with another one. Does this make sense or is he being over cautious? I use iPad and I phone and Mac desktop to do mthey Internet banking and they have up to date security on. My husband is saying I should only use one of these devices to minimise rusk. What do you all think? It's worrying me now! Thank you in advance for your replies

Goldiegirl

It's good practice to have accounts with various banks or building societies, as, in case one banks systems are down, you have another account to call on to make transactions


Also, it's wise not to have more than £85000 (soon to reduce to £75000), with any one bank (or group of banks) as this is the limit of the FSCS Compensation scheme, if the bank went bust.


But, I think your husband is getting a little bit paranoid.


There's always stories in the media about people getting hacked / scammed, but when they are investigated, it's virtually always down to the weak link in the chain - the victim - being conned / scammed into giving out information, or someone close to them 'acquiring' information to log into their accounts.


It's good practice to have different log in details for every site that you use, that way, any scammers wouldn't be able to log into any other online sites that you use.


But the banks have mega tight security regarding information stored online, and to access your accounts online you need more than just a user name and a password, there's always something like a couple of digits of a pass number, or a random number generated by a card reader or other device.


I've only just closed my Nationwide current account, and Nationwide is particularly secure. I needed a card reader, my debit card and my PIN number to log in..... very difficult for a random scammer to get their hands on.


It might be worth you opening an account elsewhere for the reasons I gave, but not for online security reasons - that's the least of your worries!

itsanne

tiptoes27 wrote: »

I use iPad and I phone and Mac desktop to do mthey Internet banking and they have up to date security on. My husband is saying I should only use one of these devices to minimise rusk. What do you all think? It's worrying me now! Thank you in advance for your replies

I know some people who use only a wired device (with wifi turned off) for banking ie after turning off its wifi they physically connect their laptop to the router. (I don't do that, just keep up to date security.)

missile

NW security system seems better than some other banks, but no system can be 100% secure.


I only use my PC for internet banking.