Smart Phones for Financial Transactions

Internet technology has made financial transactions easier and more readily available. Businessmen have extensively used the internet in their dealings. They are no longer confined to their offices in order to communicate with clients. More importantly, they can complete their financial transactions even during business travels or vacations. They no longer have to make frequent visits to the bank or have face-to-face meetings with their associates.

In earlier days, most of these transactions were done using desktop computers. Later, laptops and notebooks became more popular and transactions were made even more convenient. They can effortlessly keep track of their financial records from almost anywhere. Today, smart phones are slowly gaining popularity among businessmen. It used to be that these gadgets were used mainly in social networking, more particularly Facebook and Twitter.

A recent survey showed that the number of people using their smart phones to transmit personal and financial information is increasing. These pieces of information are uploaded mostly for online banking, shopping or social networking. There are about 17% of smart phone owners who use their device for money matters. This fact has called the attention of online criminals who take advantage of these circumstances to make money at the expense of businessmen.

Observers have said that accessing the web with the use of a mobile device is both fun and time saving. Obviously, criminals are also on the lookout for every opportunity to see how they can fit their activities into the situation. That is why it is very important for businessmen to remain vigilant. There is a new modus operandi by online criminals that is hidden in the guise of “the good guy”.

The recent rise in demand for smart phones and mobile and web applications has given online criminals the right signal. They are now using malicious software, or malware, in order to take control of users’ accounts. Hiding behind online application stores, these crooks would entice smart phone users to download rouge apps. A user does not notice that he is also downloading a program that would allow the criminal to take control of his or her phone. The rouge app would allow the criminals to eventually gain access to all personal and payment data stored on the phone.

Smart phone users have to be very careful when deciding to use their devices for accessing the web. Moreover, they should be selective about applications that they are going to download. They should learn lessons from those who were surprised when they saw their monthly bills. There were some who were made to pay for premium calls that they did not make. After all, smart phone users are expected to be smarter than online criminals, right?

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