Mobile banking is something that millionsof people around the world rely on every day to conduct their everyday bankingneeds. From balance requests to transfers and even loan applications, mobile appsprovide a secure and convenient way of managing your finances.
Security is obviously the number oneconcern when building a banking app, and as such, developers will throw thedigital equivalent of Fort Knox-type security at any application they releaseto the public. This is important because fraud is an increasing problem onmobile devices.
ALERT: 65 percent of fraudulent transactions happen on mobile devices.
TheWeakest Link
Poor human judgment remains the number onethreat leading to mobile-related fraud, with email and telephone “Phishing”attacks contributing to 48 percent of all financial fraud in the first quarterof 2018. More sophisticated “Trojan Horse” attacks, attributed to malicioussoftware, applications, and viruses, accounted for 25 percent of the fraudulentactivity.
The average level of fraud on a mobiledevice costs financial institutes and their customers $508. When you considerthis is 144 percent higher than the average legitimate transaction – you cansee how lucrative the business of fraud is.
FakeBank Apps Found on Google Play Store
Understandably, the consumers' fear offraud is a significant roadblock banks have to navigate as they attempt todrive more business via mobile services (delivering more efficient andtherefore profitable services).
So the news that IT security firm ESET recently found a number of fake banking apps targeting banking customers in Australia, Austria, New Zealand, Poland, and The United Kingdom will be of huge concern to the banks and their customers alike.
The fake banking apps used bogus forms toharvest credit card details and login information. While the majority of thefake apps simply mimicked genuine services, one took advantage of the fact thatthere was no official app available from the bank in question.
The apps had been installed on more than1,000 devices before being removed by Google.
SecurityAdvice
Security experts warn consumers to be waryof downloading banking apps from the Google Play Store and suggest payingparticular attention to the number of downloads an app has received, as well asapp ratings and reviews. It is also vitally important that consumers only entersensitive information into online forms if they are sure of their security andlegitimacy.
Pre-Loading– Security You Can Bank On
Digital Turbine has worked with the numberof banks and financial institutions to securely pre-load apps onto new mobiledevices. This has helped them reach new customers, increase client engagementand deliver the kind of efficiencies that the modern banking industry requiresin terms of customer acquisition and service.
Because all pre-loaded apps must undergorigorous security and quality checks from Digital Turbine and devicemanufacturers, consumers are guaranteed peace-of-mind and are therefore morelikely to activate and engage the app.
Pre-loading is also a very efficient methodof delivering app-based services to people who typically wouldn’t visit an AppStore.
Further Reading: App Usage through the Ages – Targeting Older, More Lucrative Users
To learn more about how pre-loading can help your business deliver a more secure approach to app distribution, speak to one of our advisors today.
