How to keep your online banking safe and secure

Digital banking makes managing your finances easy. You can pay bills, transfer money and access your accounts anytime, anywhere. 

But how secure is online and mobile banking?

At Bendigo Bank, we’re committed to keeping you safe. We use various security measures to protect customer information. These include:

• Multi-factor authentication
• Automatic logout functionality for online and mobile banking
• A dedicated security team who constantly monitor the system for suspicious activity
• Automatic alerts if unusual activity is detected
• Locking inactive accounts if they haven’t been accessed in 12 months or more

If you ever believe someone knows your e-banking login details, or has accessed your account without your permission, please act immediately.

1. Log in to e-banking and change your password immediately
2. Contact us immediately on 1300 236 344 or visit your local branch.

We will lock your account to prevent any further access and fully investigate the situation.

Seven ways to protect your online banking information

While we do everything we can to protect your accounts, there are some things that you can do, too. Here are seven ways to protect your online banking information.

1. Choose strong, unique passwords or passphrases

The best way to protect your account is by following a few simple principles.

• Make sure your passwords are unique, complex, and free from easy-to-guess personal information like birthdays, street names or children’s names.
• Avoid common words like ‘password’ and predictable sequences like ‘qwerty’ or 1234.
• Consider using a combination of random, unrelated words to create a more complex ‘passphrase’ (e.g sunnycakehorsetable).
• Update your important passwords every 3-6 months, or following any suspicious activity.
• Never share your passwords (or one-time passcode or four-digit PIN) with anyone, even people you know.
• And, if you share a joint account or have authorised signatories nominated on your accounts, remember they must register separately for e-banking and use their own unique Access ID and password. If you need to nominate someone to be an authorised signatory on a bank account, this can be organised in a branch where they will be issued their own login details.

2. Enable multi-factor authentication

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds a layer of security to your e-banking. It works by requiring two or more proofs of identity before you can access your account. This could be a password combined with a code sent to your mobile phone, a fingerprint or facial scan, or a notification on a trusted device, and it makes it substantially harder for hackers to access your apps or accounts, even if they have your password.

To keep your money and data safe, both the Bendigo Bank app and e-banking use MFA. Find out more about MFA and how to set it up.

3. Tips for using a web browser to access your e-banking

To keep your device and e-banking account secure when using a web browser, such Chrome, Safari or Firefox, we recommend following these simple tips:

• Always type www.bendigobank.com.au directly into your browser's address bar instead of clicking search engine results.
• Never allow your web browser to remember, store or auto-fill your e-banking passwords.
• Always check there is a padlock symbol on the login page. Select the padlock to verify you are dealing with us.
• Simply closing your browser window doesn’t end your session. If you don’t click "Log Out," the browser's "Back" button can allow other users on the device to view your information. Always click "Log Out" when you’re finished using e-banking.
• Take extra care if using shared or public computers in libraries, internet cafes, hotels, motels, or guest business centres. Clear the browser history and cache before walking away.
• Regularly update your operating system and browser.
• Install reputable antivirus and firewall software and keep it up to date.

4. Sharing your financial information

Some popular third-party apps and services, such as budgeting tools, investment platforms, accounting software and online lenders, ask you to input your e-banking Access ID and password so they can log in on your behalf to gather your financial data. This process is known as "screen scraping".

While these services can be convenient, sharing your login details with them poses serious security and technical risks:

• Your credentials and financial data may be shared or stored by those third parties outside of our secure systems, and we can’t provide any assurance over their security practices.
• Automated third-party logins can trigger multi-factor authentication prompts at unexpected times, potentially locking you out of your account.
• It’s against the terms and conditions of our banking products for you to provide your e-banking login details (Access ID, password, one-time passcodes, or four-digit PIN) to a third party. This is important, as it may affect your liability if any unauthorised transactions occur on your account.

Instead of sharing your passwords, always use safe, bank-approved alternatives. These include official data feeds (often used for business accounting software) or the Australian Government’s accredited Open Banking system, which allows you to securely share your financial data with accredited providers without ever revealing your password.

5. Steer clear of public WiFi

Public WiFi networks may be convenient, but they can pose significant security risks. Hackers can electronically ‘eavesdrop’ on your banking and online activity, and data can be easily intercepted and read by anyone with access to the network.

It can also be hard to tell whether or not a network is safe to join. Malicious hotspots can trick victims into connecting to what they think is a legitimate network by using a reputable name. Hackers then redirect their computers to unwanted websites and record keystrokes to gain access to your accounts.

To be safe, avoid using online banking when connected to public WiFi. If you need to bank on the go, consider disabling Wi-Fi on your device and switch to your mobile network (4G or 5G), or use a reputable Virtual Private Network (VPN) to encrypt your connection.

6. Check security notifications and banking alerts

Security notifications alert you instantly of logins to or payments from your online banking account. These notifications require you to approve or reject the specific activity.

If you get a security notification you didn’t request or suspect it’s from fraudulent or suspicious activity, change your banking password and contact us immediately.

7. Be wary of phishing scams

Phishing is one of the most common scams identity thieves use to gain access to personal and financial information. These scams can take different forms, but they’re often email or text scams impersonating your bank or financial institution.

They’ll often convey a sense of urgency and prompt you to click a link to update your information. Clicking these links allows hackers to capture your login information via a malicious dummy site or download a tracking malware to your device. This software then tracks your keystrokes on your device to capture your passwords.

You can keep yourself and your family safe online by staying up to date with the latest scam alerts and scams protection information.

The bottom line

Online banking helps you stay in control of your finances wherever you are. You can mitigate the risks by being proactive, monitoring your accounts and protecting your online banking information. The more diligent you are, the less chance there is that your information will end up in the wrong hands.

Things to remember

• Contact us immediately on 1300 236 344 or visit your local branch if you think someone has your login information or access to your e-banking account.
• Never provide your 6-digit e-banking security code to anyone over the phone or online.
• We’ll never ask you to click on a link in an SMS text message to login to e-banking or request remote access to your PC computer or mobile device.