[inthused]

I was following another thread about late billing and late fees and I get the feeling more and more people are not only paying bills online but feel completely comfortable doing it.
How do you feel about saving 41 cents to mail a payment versus getting on line and exposing yourself and your bank account to identity theft?
Is anyone tech savy enough to have solid internet protection that gaurantees no worries? And if so, what are you using and how much is it costing you to be safe?
If you think there isn't a problem with online banking, please explain why.

LET'S HEAR ALL ABOUT IT cause I am against it 100%
Here is my opinion of it

OH, and if you think "I" am nuts, take a moment to explain why.

 

[mrarroyo]

I still pay all my bills via "snail mail".

 

[inthused]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I still pay all my bills via "snail mail".

I agree 99.9999%. Would you care to share why?

 

[Edwood]

Call it "sticking it to the man", but banks these days are getting really pushy about getting people to have direct deposit (impossible for me as I am a freelancer), and direct online transactions. It saves them money, yet they don't pass any of those savings onto me. So, I snail mail payments out of spite. Also, I like having those microfiche/scans of my endorsed checks. Ironically, i check my bank statement online, but do not make online payments. But I can check if a check has cleared or not. Once a credit card company claimed they did not receive a payment, yet there was that transaction complete with endorsed check. I faxed them a copy of it and told them to shove it.

Paperless society we are not. Errors still happen, and a paper trail is a solid option to back things up.

-Ed

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by inthused /img/forum/go_quote.gif I agree 99.9999%. Would you care to share why?

I guess having had my identity stolen once and spending well over 18 months to fix the fiasco has made me very reticent to pass information. Although lately I seem to be a bit more lax.

 

[Blitzula]

I've done online bill payment for years. I've never had a single security issue, and I think the likelihood that one will is low if you keep your password to yourself and do other obvious things (don't open links or files from people you don't know, firewall/virus protection, etc.). And there's limited if any liability if something did go wrong outside of your control.

I have been a victim of identity theft...but it was someone physically stealing my credit card and posing as me.

It is much more convenient to pay bills online-quicker, cheaper, and just as if not more safe. Think about it...what's safer, going online with significant encryption, or mailing a paper check with your account number that can be stolen, erased, and then used.

Any time you hear seemingly frightening topics such as this, the first question should always be...what are the percentages? How often is this happening? I imagine the actual percentage of people having their identity stolen through online bill pay is miniscule to the overall number of users. That makes me comfortable also.

 

[LonerGenius]

Someone could steal your paper mail and have your information just as easily (if not easier) so I just live my life and don't woory about such things...I do nearly EVERYTHING online...I have ordered pizza, grocery shopped (delivery service) and I have never given risk a serious thought.

Sorry to hear about your bad experience with identity theft (mine probably isn't worth stealing)

 

[plainsong]

There's no such thing as a check here. I had to pay the US Embassy by check once (passport renewal), and it was such a strange request that the bank called and confirmed this was correct. Then the teller proceeded to go until vault full of dusty papers, dusted one off, asked if I'd mind, and I said to go ahead, and she showed everyone this strange thing she was about to do and how companies still use this apparently.

And forget about cashing a check here. So umm, yeah, I trust online because I have to, but my bank's new database isn't so hot. Not only is it not instant anymore, but I can see how they made the db because you can see the folder paths in the browser ... which were named after specific use cases of the db...which means that if I can see the schema, a hacker sure as hell can.

We even ran a test case on how we could tell the schema went, and it worked, just for "fun" in db class. That's not good, don't name the folders after your user views and use cases.

But logging in is done a bit differently here, and it's been the system used since before I first visited even, in '96 - you log in with a set code and then a pin code that can only be used once. The bank keeps tabs on when you need new codes and they always seem to come in good time. So the one never works without the other, and it will only tell you what number code you are on if you within 1 of that code. After three tries it locks your account for 24 hours.

So no guessing Jeff Jeffty Jeff's password as Jeff. That's handy, but the new db just isn't.

But not a lot of choice. If you don't pay online, then you have to go to a bill paying kiosk...which is the same thing, or a teller.

 

[inthused]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blitzula /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've done online bill payment for years. I've never had a single security issue, and I think the likelihood that one will is low if you keep your password to yourself and do other obvious things (don't open links or files from people you don't know, firewall/virus protection, etc.). And there's limited if any liability if something did go wrong outside of your control. I have been a victim of identity theft...but it was someone physically stealing my credit card and posing as me. It is much more convenient to pay bills online-quicker, cheaper, and just as if not more safe. Think about it...what's safer, going online with significant encryption, or mailing a paper check with your account number that can be stolen, erased, and then used. Any time you hear seemingly frightening topics such as this, the first question should always be...what are the percentages? How often is this happening? I imagine the actual percentage of people having their identity stolen through online bill pay is miniscule to the overall number of users. That makes me comfortable also.

I know what you are saying but how many online users even know if thier virus protection is up to date, let alone using a firewall? I won't even go into keylogger programs, even if it is a secure encripted connection. I do not do any online banking stictly due to keylogger viruses, since a password is no longer private.

I'm just addding a little factoid for any viewers reading this so that they know just what actually happens, and it is common, on the web. Just trying to educate the uninformed masses about the false sense of security that is growing. It used to be "taking the easy way out" meant trouble with a big "T", and I think that still holds true.

 

[inthused]

Sorry to hear about you having no choice.

 

[darkninja67]

The only check I ever write is my rent.
The advantage of paying credit card bills via internet is that I can adjust the amount should something come up. That is something that I can never do with a check sent in the mail.

 

[warubozu]

The two credit cards that I once had active with Chase did me no favors. After conitinually raising my interest rate more often than not and shortening my grace period, I promptly canceled my accounts with them. Since then out of spite I rather let them wait for their money by processing my check instead of them receiving my payment instantly via online.

 

[ecclesand]

I pay all my bills online and many of them are actually setup as autopays which means I don't even think about them. I balance my bank account every month and keep a solid spending plan (a.k.a. budget). I and my wife have been victims of identity theft because of our 800+ credit scores. It took a long time and a lot of paperwork, but we got it all straightened out. We have fraud alerts with all 3 credit bureaus in the states so noone can open an account without our approval via phone. We also subscribe to a credit monitoring service where we are notified when anyone accesses our credit files. This all probably sounds like overkill, but when you have gone thru what we did, it's worth it.

Oddly enough, the identity theft happened when we paid our bills via snailmail. It actually happened just after we bought a house and we can only assume that it was the mortgage company...either someone within the company sold the info or someone simply went dumpster diving outside the company. My point is this...if someone wants your information bad enough they're going to get it whether you pay your bills online or via regular mail. That being said...why not take advantage of the online bill paying services. Since I started paying my bills online, I've never had a problem. Food for thought FWIW....

 

[plainsong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by inthused /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry to hear about you having no choice.

Well if you read the post though, even if the db is screaming HACK ME! - the login system itself is difficult for a scammer to get to. They would need not only your account number, but a different customer number. Ok, so that's possible, but then you'd need to get the codes as well, codes used once each time and different codes for money trasfers, randomly chosen...

Nothing is impossible, but bad guys are usually dumb.

 

[rxc]

I pay my bills in cash at the convenience store so yay Japan.