Internet hacking is a growing problem. With that in mind, do you still bank online?
by 
anonymous
ANSWERS: 3
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Yes. Hackers don't typically target consumers. It's too risky, and doesn't have a high enough payoff. Identity theft is much more common among consumers, and that information is usually obtained via a paper source, such as Tax forms or Employment documents. Hackers target bigger companies, because they can be in and out with lots of information in short periods of time, and the risk is worth the payoff. Edit I: Also, the term Hacker is misleading. A hacker is someone who decompiles software, and either modifies it or steals the source code. A CRACKER, on the other hand, is someone who breaks into databases, bypasses security, and obtains information. Keep in mind that Crackers are also great social engineers, because they have to be able to convince people to willingly give up vital information involving the system they are trying to break into. Kevin Mitnick wasn't a skilled cracker, per se, but he was a great social engineer, which allowed him to be very successful until he was caught by the head of Motorola in the 90's.
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Yes because my bank gave me helluva insurance
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I do, but only from my own desktop system. I don't trust the wifi on my laptop, but my desktop is connected via CAT5 cable and is thus about as secure as the little card readers at the stores and restaurants. Possibly moreso. I mean, if you hand your credit card to a waitress, it's out of your sight for a while and you have to trust that they aren't doing anything nefarious either. If anybody hacks my info, it will likely be because they hacked into the system of a company I purchased from and got a lot of other people's account info as well. And that could happen anywhere, even if you use checks. As Ender points out, the high risk and low payoffs make hacking companies more appealing than going after individual people banking from their home systems. And most companies have some combination of decent security, fraud protection, and liability insurance in case their shortcomings cause financial harm to their customers.
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