using phone for internet finance safe?

yes, not voice but the 4G connection for data vs the park wifi.4

I interrupted he was asking wifi vs cellular connection, not voice.

The OP actually asked if using his iphone voice connection is safe. The answer is if someone just happens to be listening in, is no. What are the chances that someone is listening in to your carrier's cell tower or connecting towers at the moment you are calling your bank and making a payment or doing bank business. Unlikely. It is possible. Anything is possible. Are you safe doing this? Maybe.

Whether it is a voice connection by cell or a wifi connection - or an internet connection by wired network to a PC - the bottom line is nothing is safe. No amount of security on a home/personal/mobile level is really secure from someone who is criminally looking to get in. The more you think you are safe, the more of a challenge it is for a hacker to show you that you are wrong - and that can and does happen. Every system has a backdoor. And as many of us know who have been comprised at the bank's end or through a business or even as high as government systems, nothing is safe. So you do the best that you can and hope you get by.

wa8yxm wrote:
There are companies like Net Zero who say you are safer with your own "Hot Spot" than you are with "Free Wi-Fi".. Is this true?

Most of the Credit Card info thefts I know of they hacked the bank or a store. NOT the user... but I do have to stress these are the ones I know of, IN one case I was the "Non-Victim" (I will explain) and in the rest it's news coverage.

The one case.. They tried to charge over 500 in goods to my debit card.. Well... I keep that account kind of low on funds most of the time.

The transaction was declined due to NSF.. As I wished it to be.. I know about it because the fraud center notified me.

Yes and no. Your connection to the bank is secure. Your computer is only secure if you are using strong passwords, using unique user accounts and renaming the default admin accounts. Your firewall can also prevent intrusion by other computers.

I would use what is comfortable.

For very security sensitive stuff, I like using a direct 3G/4G/LTE link. The blackhats with the equipment that can decrypt that have bigger fish to fry than my connections.

For a local Wi-fi connection, I fire up a VPN. This way if someone is listening in, they see my L2TP/PPTP/whatever packets going to and from the VPN, all encrypted, and that's it. They can kill or slow down the connection, but won't be able to use the info for anything.

There are companies like Net Zero who say you are safer with your own "Hot Spot" than you are with "Free Wi-Fi".. Is this true?

Most of the Credit Card info thefts I know of they hacked the bank or a store. NOT the user... but I do have to stress these are the ones I know of, IN one case I was the "Non-Victim" (I will explain) and in the rest it's news coverage.

The one case.. They tried to charge over 500 in goods to my debit card.. Well... I keep that account kind of low on funds most of the time.

The transaction was declined due to NSF.. As I wished it to be.. I know about it because the fraud center notified me.

magicbus wrote:
I use my Bank of America mobile app for all my banking with no concerns. I just deposited a check using my phone. Beats finding a BofA ATM since they closed every office and ATM within 10 miles of my house. If they didn't have such exceptional online banking and the single use Shop Safe credit card for Internet shopping I'd dump them in a heartbeat, but for now they give us the safe portability we need.

Dave

X2
The bank provides an app for doing banking via your cell phone.
Can you imagine the liability exposure they had to consider before providing the app?
Major brokerages also permit online trading via cellphone.
It probably a lot safer than driving on a city street.

I use my Bank of America mobile app for all my banking with no concerns. I just deposited a check using my phone. Beats finding a BofA ATM since they closed every office and ATM within 10 miles of my house. If they didn't have such exceptional online banking and the single use Shop Safe credit card for Internet shopping I'd dump them in a heartbeat, but for now they give us the safe portability we need.

Dave

n7bsn wrote:
Besides the "ap" many banks also do a hand-shake with the phone/computer/tablet. If that device has never been used to access that account, the server stops the access and goes through a verify process. Which (with the way I have ours setup) means the banks calls our home phonenumber with an access code, that we then have to enter into the device.

They can also use a text to a known good cell, unique questions or email to known good email account. Known good means a verified on file number or email.

Besides the "ap" many banks also do a hand-shake with the phone/computer/tablet. If that device has never been used to access that account, the server stops the access and goes through a verify process. Which (with the way I have ours setup) means the banks calls our home phonenumber with an access code, that we then have to enter into the device.