Stay home with money at hand: How to protect your money from the crisis (1)

We are in the middle of an unusual situation, which puts in danger not only your health but your finances as well. You need to take care not only of your wellbeing but of your money as well. Be cautious, and take the following measures to protect your money:

Keep your money in a bank

Banks are by far the safest place for your finances and you can keep your money on deposit/savings account. Deposits are guaranteed by the Deposit Insurance Fund up to 100 000 EUR per depositor.

Don’t share your personal information

Be very aware to whom you provide your personal information, especially if it is regarding your unique identity number, identity card number, credit card/contract number, PINs for cards, username and password for your banking accounts, access to mobile apps, etc. Nobody has the right to require your PIN and password, thus before you share them find out whether you are obliged by law to provide such information and why.

Be careful what kind of links you click on

You probably receive a lot of emails, some SPAM messages contain suspicious links, which can provide important information stored on your computer such as passwords, credentials and personal data to thieves.

In the current situation of COVID-19 spread, malicious schemes covered as donations are very popular and might ask you to send money for a good cause you think, but in reality, you might be sending them to someone’s pocket.

Pay attention, not only for suspicious links in your emails, but also leads in received SMS and when browsing the internet.

Monitor your deposits, loans and current accounts  

If you receive regularly bank or other financial statements and you are experiencing a delay, contact immediately the respective sender (financial institution) and find out if there is a reason behind the delay.

Check the balance on your cards/bank accounts on a daily basis and if you notice suspicious transactions or other activities, call the financial institution to avoid possibilities of becoming a victim of a fraud.

Use strong/complex passwords and different PINs

Health experts recommend shopping and paying with debit/credit cards instead of cash. The reason is that paper banknotes and coins are one of the main sources of bacteria and virus spreads, which stick to their surface and can stay there for more than 24 hours. Keep that in mind and revise your card passwords and PINs regularly in order to make them more complex and known only by you.

There you go! It is not that difficult, just take the necessary measures. Remain responsible for your health, and your finances as well.