Cyber warfare is mainstream and getting more sophisticated. Unfortunately, more people are falling for very slick and ‘professional’ scams. If someone contacts you unexpectedly, STOP and ask “Is this real”? Ask them for a ‘reference number’. Use your own efforts to find the “real phone number” and then call “them” back if you think it’s real otherwise give it a miss. If anything investment related arises ring us without delay to check.
When it comes to making payments, banks are often relying on mobile phone SMS codes. This makes your mobile phone a target. To counter this, some institutions are investing in their banking Apps to integrate approvals. One example is the Macquarie Authenticator App with its sophisticated security:
- Provides unique online verification when using online banking portal for cash transactions. Importantly this is a separate App to the Macquarie Mobile App.
- In situations where you make Macquarie cash payments, the only way to approve the payments is via the Authenticator App specific to your personal mobile phone which replaces the risk with text messages.
- If you log in to Macquarie from a new computer or device, the Authenticator App will prompt you to confirm your identity (by clicking one button) before the portal will allow you to enter as an extra security measure.
- To get full protection you should look for and turn on Push Notifications for banking App via the Settings feature on your phone (notwithstanding these can be annoying but it is better to be in the know).
- Also, one of the most important security features you can enable is Multi-Factor Identification which should be activated on all your websites that contain personal details where available.
If you have any questions on the security features of your investment accounts or if you detect anything suspicious, please call us and your third party provider direct without delay. We are on the watch for unusual transactions and alerts. Furthermore in setting your financial strategy and preparing our progress reviews we are regularly taking precautions to ensure there are no large cash balances sitting idle.