Digital Banking Safety
At Credit Bank, our Digital Banking Platform, Konnect Banking, gives you convenient access to your account through your mobile phone or even via internet on your PC. Our platforms are well secured but such access requires you to mitigate risks that may be beyond our control.
The Credit Bank Visa Debit Cards provide you with access and convenience. With this cards’ flexibility and access, comes a different type of risk. As a Visa Debit Card owner, you face unexpected risks such as fraud, theft and even ATM mugging. This therefore brings in the need to ensure that your Debit Card is insured against such risks.
Once your card is insured, it is important as an insured card holder, to report the loss or theft of your card to the bank as quickly as possible. Our
Contact Centre has availed to you multiple channels of access that make it easy to report this theft (available 24hrs with regard to card issues). Once you report the loss of your Visa Debit Card, it is important that you do the following:
- Follow up with a letter or email. Remember to include your account number, the date and time when you noticed your card was missing, and when you first reported the loss.
- Check your card statement carefully for transactions you didn’t make and report these transactions to the bank as quickly as possible.
- Report to the nearest police station in the event of a robbery, hijacking, mugging or any such unfortunate occurrence.
For more security tips you can check out this resource by Kenya Bankers Association, these
Visa Debit Card safety tips or these Mobile Banking and Internet Banking Safety Tips.
Protecting Your Visa Debit Card should be a priority. Whilst we have put in place various safety measures such as EMV Chip and Pin, there are added measure you may need to undertake. Over and above keeping your card in a safe place, just like you would cash, credit cards or checks, ensure you also do the following:
- Do not leave your card lying around the house or on your desk at work.No one should have access to the card but you. Notify us immediately if your Visa Debit Card is lost or stolen or if you suspect unauthorized use using our contact centre or visit your nearest Credit Bank branch.
- Keep your Personal Identification Number (PIN) a secret. Memorize it and never write it down anywhere, especially on your Card.
- Choose a PIN number that only you know. It is recommended, you don’t use your phone number or birthday.
- Do not provide your card information over the telephone unless you initiated the call. Never provide your PIN over the telephone. For example, if you receive a call, supposedly from the bank or possibly the police, wanting to verify your PIN, do not give that information.
- Use chip-enabled technology if available.For the most secure transaction, if a retailer offers a chip-enabled terminal, use it instead of swiping the magnetic strip.
- Keep an eye on your money.Review account statements regularly. Or better yet, sign up for Online banking to get secure online access to your account anytime, day or night. Report any problems or questions, including transactions you think may be unauthorized, right away. Again, quick action can limit misuse and save you money.
- Don’t let a cashier or anyone else enter your PIN,even if they are helping you with the transaction.
- Using an ATM, be aware of your surroundings, particularly at night. If you observe or sense suspicious persons or circumstances, do not use the ATM machine at that time. If anyone or anything seems suspicious when you are using a public terminal, leave the area immediately. Once you get cash from an ATM, put it away before walking away from the ATM. Have your Card ready and in your hand as you approach the ATM. Don’t wait to get to the ATM and then take your Card out of your wallet or purse.
- Visually inspect the ATM for possible skimming devices. Potential indicators can include sticky residue or evidence of an adhesive used by criminals to affix the device, scratches, damaged or crooked pieces, loose or extra attachments on the card slot, or noticeable resistance when pressing the keypad.
- Be careful that no one can see you enter your PIN at the ATM. Use your other hand or body to shield the ATM keyboard as you enter your PIN into the ATM.
- Make sure your ATM or debit transaction is complete, then review your receipt before leaving the terminal.
At Credit Bank, we provide you with convenient access to your account through your mobile phone or even via internet on your PC. Our platforms are well secured but such access requires you to mitigate risks that may be beyond our control. We advise the following:
- Ensure that the device that you use to do internet or mobile banking has appropriate and updated security packages installed.
- Run regular Anti-Virus scans or have them scheduled at the most once a week.
- Never follow links to URLs emailed to you and don’t Google your bank’s address. Google can be tricked into moving spoof sites up its rankings table by criminals looking to entice people to sites designed to harvest logon details. Enter important URLs yourself. You can access our internet banking login here
- Caution must be placed when utilizing wireless hotspots for banking as the average user will not have the capability to detect unsecured networks.
- Use chip-enabled technology if available.For the most secure transaction, if a retailer offers a chip-enabled terminal, use it instead of swiping the magnetic strip.
- Do not open emails or click on links from unknown sources no matter what the subject or attachment is named – this is a common method to lure users to activate the malicious code.
- Do not use public computers like internet cafés to do internet banking.
- If your computer hangs, re-boot and ensure that the anti-virus is up and running.
- Ensure that your anti-virus software’s license period has not expired or is out of date.
- Only use security packages from reputable vendors.
- If you are using a Microsoft operating system, use their free tools to detect and clean your computer should it already be infected.
- Know what packages you have on your system so that you can recognize fake messages purporting to be from service providers whose packages you have not installed.
- Use robust passwords that include letters, numbers and symbols and are longer than 6 digits at the very least.
- Do not use obvious information in your passwords like your own name or birth date not that of family members.
- Do not share or disclose your username and password to others. Do not write username and password down where others can see it.
- Change your PIN and passwords frequently. Do not use the same passwords on social media platforms and for banking. Do not re-cycle passwords.
- Log out or sign off the banking site after completing transactions.
- Lock your computer screen when leaving it unattended and keep your systems up to date.
- Beware of technical support scams. Reputable software service providers will not cold call you to put pressure on you to install software on your computer.