If you're reading this, I'm earning money in some way. I was compensated with money and/or product. Thanks for helping to feed my family. I also may have a financial interest in companies named. Please see our disclosure for more information. Also, any advice provided is for informational purposes only. I'm not an accountant, lawyer, doctor, fitness expert, or nutrition specialist. So, talk to a professional before acting on anything you read, watch, or listen to below. Get your own advice and do your own research. Email me at [email protected] with questions.

I have a great contributed post for you today on what to do when your bank account is hacked. Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!

The idea of finding that someone has been accessing your bank account is incredibly scary. For most people, this part of their life is something they want to keep tightly guarded, giving them protection when they need it most.

Of course, though, you can’t assume that you’re safe, especially with so many ways for people to access your funds. To help you out when you need it most, we will be exploring the process which should be taken if you ever find your finances compromised.

What Should I Do When My Bank Account Is Hacked?

When You Notice The Issue

The moment you first notice the issue with your accounts is when you should start taking action. Criminals move quickly, and this leaves you without much time to stop them. Below, you can find the three stages which this should come in.

Stage One - Cancellations

Before anything else, you should attempt to cut off the access they have to your money. Whether this is through freezing your account or canceling your cards, you should be working on this immediately, and shouldn’t stop until you’re sure nothing more can be taken. At this point, it is also worth contacting both the police and your bank to let them know what has happened, even if this takes some work.

Stage Two - Reform

With access to your finances removed, you will be ready to start getting rid of their access to your logins. This will start by ditching or resetting your password manager, removing anything which you can’t risk people seeing, like your bank details. From there, passwords will be your next target, and you will need to make all of your old favorites unique.

Stage Three - Damage Control

As the final stage in this process, it’s likely that you’re going to have to do some damage control to recover properly from this sort of attack. Finding out what to do if you’re a victim of identity theft can be hard, and your credit rating may have taken a hit, leaving you with loads of research to do. Along with this, you may also be able to get your stolen money back through payment recovery, but this will only work with some types of account.

When The Dust Settles

As you manage to solve the last few little issues from your financial attack, you’ll be able to start thinking about the long-term work you’re going to do to help yourself. After something like this happens, most people will be much more motivated to improve their security. Of course, though, you shouldn’t wait for it to happen before you protect yourself.

Better Authentication

Nowadays, there are loads of new ways for you to connect with your bank. Whether you’re using an app or a website, you will almost always have access to a way to protect your account. Two-factor authentication works to make an account more secure by adding a physical barrier to it. Without your key, other people can’t access the good stuff, and this will keep it safe. If you don’t already have this setup, you should talk to your bank about doing it as soon as possible.

Computer Security

In some cases, though, it might not be the bank which lets people in. Instead, it could be your own computer which is to blame, as a lot of viruses are designed to capture people’s bank information. Avoiding this is a simple matter of using the right software to keep you protected. There are loads of anti-virus options out there, and you’ll need to do some research if you want to find the right ones. Along with this, you should also try to avoid logging into your banking while on public networks.

Assessing Your Services

Finally, as the last job on your list, it’s time to get critical of the people providing you with your services. In a lot of cases, data leaks caused by your bank will go completely unnoticed, and you won’t have to worry about them. If they leak something which does impact you, though, they can’t be trusted. Thankfully, most banks make it nice and easy to switch, nowadays, and this can help you a lot. This shouldn’t stop with the bank, and you should work hard to make sure all of your providers are as secure as they can be.

With any luck, you’ll never need help like this, and it will be nice and easy to keep yourself protected in the world of finance. A lot of people struggle with this sort of work, finding it hard to balance everything on their plate. But, of course, when there’s a criminal on the loose, you can’t afford to sit around, and you have to be confident enough to take action.