Internet banking service users warned about information leaks
Internet banking service users warned about information leaks
A senior official at the Bank of the Lao PDR has urged people to learn before making decisions to use internet banking services as the careless use of the technology can cause great loss to them.
The National Payment System Project Manager at the Bank of the Lao PDR, Mr Phanthong Kongvonsa, issued the warning this week amid increasing competition among the commercial banks in Laos to introduce internet banking services as one of their marketing policies to attract customers.
A number of commercial banks in Vientiane ar e posting advertisements around the capital about the new service. However, they do not provide information to customers that the modern technology will also bring negative impacts to them if they do not know how to use it properly.
The internet techno logy can help bank customers to access to banking services faster and more easily as they no longer have to travel to the banks; however they face a number of risks including losing their personel financial information and money to financial crimes.
Mr Phanthong urged bank customers to study internet banking service applications carefully before m aking the decision to use the new service. He said that bank customers face a number of risks in regards to losing their financial information when they use internet banking services .
For example they should sign off from the internet banking programme at their computer after they finish using the service to prevent other computer users from accessing their bank accounts.
He also urged that people should never send their username, password and ATM PIN through email or mobile SMS as the information could be obtained for the purposes of financial crime.
One of the best ways to prevent their financial information leaking is for internet banking users to regularly read and watch news in relation to technology so as they can have new information to prevent the loss of their financial information to criminals.
Internet banking service users should update their computer regularly and install virus scanners and personal firewalls to prevent hackers from obtaining their financial information.
Mr Phanthong said that the commercial banks in Laos should update a code programme once every three months or so in order to bolster database security and ensure that financial criminals cannot gain access to their systems.
There are more than 30 commercial banks in Laos; most of the banks have updated their technology to provide the best services to customers.
vientiane times
