As banking Trojan attacks increase, expert advice to protect your information

InvestigateTV - Experts with cyber security company Kaspersky discovered nearly 200,000 new mobile banking Trojan installers last year, a two-fold increase from the previous year.

A banking Trojan is a widely used tool by cyber criminals to steal important information, like usernames and passwords, you store or plug into websites while online shopping.

“That sort of information can be all collected, and it might be reused right away to say, drain your account or it may be sold in the dark web, so that somebody else could clone a credit card and start using a card in your name,” Kurt Baumgartner, a principal security researcher with Kaspersky, said.

There are numerous ways your device can be infected with malware. Most often, it ends up on your computer or phone after clicking on a malicious link or installing illegitimate software.

Baumgartner provided several tips for how to protect yourself against banking Trojans:

• Always download software and games from their official sites
• Use a reliable security program
• Regularly check your banking and credit cards accounts and verify your transactions
• Use a unique password for every site
• Pay for purchases with a credit instead of debit card

The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has a tip card with more information on malware and addition tips to help protect yourself.

If you think you have been a victim of a malware attack, you can report it to CISA here.

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