How to Keep Your Digital Banking Secure: Essential Tips to Protect Your Accounts Online

Digital banking makes managing your money easier, faster, and more convenient—but it also makes security more important than ever. Protecting your online and mobile banking accounts starts with smart habits like using secure apps, strong passwords, alerts, and fraud awareness. At Prevail Bank, we’re committed to helping you bank confidently by providing secure digital tools and clear guidance to keep your personal and financial information safe.

Verify you’re using the correct mobile banking app

First and foremost, be sure that you are using the correct Prevail mobile banking app. If your app looks like our app pictured below, that’s a good first step.

Scammers can create phony apps that seem to be legitimate to trick users into entering their credentials on their fake app. To avoid this, use the direct links from our website to access your Online banking account, and to download our mobile banking app.

          

To help keep your Prevail Bank debit card transactions safe and secure, our free Prevail mobile banking app has a card manager platform called "Cards".  It contains controls and alerts that help you manage where and how your card is used. 

We also recommend uploading your card to a mobile wallet feature; it allows you to pay for purchases with your phone instead of the actual card. This is extremely secure because your smart phone uses tokenization – a dynamic, one-time-use encrypted code – so your actual card number is never shared. 

Note: A mobile wallet app is independent from a Manage My Cards app. The Mobile Wallet app provides the ability to make secure purchases. The Manage My Cards app tracks and helps manage your spending.  Both Manage My Cards and Mobile Wallet functionality are available through Prevail Bank’s mobile banking app.

 Keep your digital banking off public Wi-Fi sources

Free public Wi-Fi is hard to pass up, but when it comes to online or mobile banking, take a pass.  Wireless public internet connections are easy targets for hackers to intercept. Stick to your private, secure Wi-Fi, or your mobile phone’s data connection.

Tip: make sure the Online Banking website you are using has a secure connection. To check for this, make sure that the URL bar includes a lock icon, like the one pictured below.

Update your digital banking passwords

This is the easiest safety precaution you can take for all your digital accounts. If you have not changed your digital banking password recently, now’s the time. Consider the following tips when creating a new password:

• Use a complex combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters
• Make sure that your password is at least 8 characters long

Turn on multi-factor authentication

Track your banking activity using Alerts

Watch out for phishing scams

How to tell if it’s a phishing scam

• Email – Check suspicious emails for signs of a scam. If your email asks for personal information, it’s a scam.
• Text – If you receive a text saying your card is locked and it directs you to call a particular number, it’s a scam. Or if you receive a text asking you to sign into your bank account or provide your personal information, it’s a scam.
• Phone Call – If you didn’t expect a call from your bank and they ask for personal information, it could be a scam. Hang up and call your bank yourself to confirm.

Prevail Bank will never call, text, or email you asking for your private information. Always call the bank (with a phone number you know is true) to verify any suspicious contact regarding your Prevail accounts and debit cards.

What to Do If You Notice Suspicious Activity

If you notice unfamiliar transactions, failed login alerts, or suspect fraud, contact Prevail Bank immediately. Acting quickly can help limit potential losses and keep your account secure.
 

Consider using an RFID-blocking wallet or card

Most debit and credit cards use RFID (radio‑frequency identification) technology, which allows for quick, contactless payments. While convenient, this technology can also make cards vulnerable to electronic “skimming”. If you carry your credit and debit cards with you, consider an RFID‑blocking wallet or card sleeve. It helps protect your information by preventing unauthorized scanners from accessing your card data.
Using RFID protection is an easy, low‑cost step you can take to add another layer of security to your everyday banking—especially when traveling or spending time in crowded public places.

Keep your devices and apps updated

Regular updates to your phone, computer, and banking apps help protect against security vulnerabilities. Updates often include important security fixes that keep hackers from exploiting older software.

Let Prevail Bank help

If you are unsure, ask! Prevail Bank is here to help you stay safe online. We want to make digital banking easy for you. If you have any questions regarding how to download our app, make a transfer, pay a bill, or anything else, we have resources for you.

Our Personal Education Center offers videos and walk-thru tutorials to help guide you through our services. We also offer in-depth blogs highlighting our services. Or, if you prefer one-on-one personal service, call us and arrange a date to review the technology available to you and how to use it securely.
 
Prevail Bank – Member FDIC
800-205-0914