How to Keep Your Trading Account Safe from Unauthorized Use?

Opening a trading account could be easy for you as many discount brokers or full-service brokers offer free trading account opening facilities. But using the trading account safely is one of the important factors to keep your trading experience not only safe but also trouble-free.  And without having a trading account you cannot participate in the buying and selling in the stock market.

A trading account is the only gateway to enter into the stock market that provides you can online platform to buy or sell any stock or other underlying securities as per your ease. Hence, ensuring the safety and protection of your trading account from unauthorized use becomes crucial in safeguarding your investment activities against various risks such as cyber threats, malware, and unauthorized access. Additionally, maintaining security helps to avoid potential legal penalties imposed by regulatory authorities.

Why You Need to Protect Your Trading Account?

• Unauthorized Use

•  You need to protect your trading account from unauthorized access, including from your near and dear ones who might accidentally or intensely get access to your trading account. If an unauthorized person executes unexpected transactions on your behalf it can cost you in terms of financial loss if wrong decisions have been taken while buying and selling any stock. Hence, keep checking your trading account to protect against any kind of unauthorized activity.

• Threats from Cybercrimes

• Cybercriminals continually target individuals engaging in online transactions or conducting various activities linked to their bank accounts. They exploit methods such as hacking, injecting malware, or enticing users with phishing emails or messages to either corrupt their trading account application or gain unauthorized access to steal key data or money.

• To Avoid Regulatory Actions

• While opening, using and maintaining the trading account you need to comply with the regulatory guidelines instructed by the regulatory authorities like SEBI and other stock exchange intermediaries like depositors and stock exchanges. You should be aware of the regulatory framework towards the trading account and its obligations or responsibilities of the users, as any kind of misuse or violation of rules can cost you by imposed penalties by such authorities.

• Controlling Your Investments

• Your trading account is use to trade or buy and sell securities online, hence it plays a major role in creating the portfolio of investment. Using your trading account you can buy stocks, ETFs, mutual funds and bonds issued by the designated authorities, hence you need to keep control of using your trading account. You can transfer the funds between your bank account and trading account; hence you need to keep control of your account for safe investment.

Also Read: What to Know Before Investing in Stocks: 10 Things to Consider

Protecting your trading account is not only important to keep your bank account and investments safe but it is also very important to make the right use of your trading account without the regulatory guidelines to avoid any penalties. To keep your trading account safe and protected from such unauthorized use you can follow the various preventive measurable tips discussed below.

10 Tips to Keep Your Trading Account Safe:

• Use Only Authenticated Platforms

• While accessing your trading account make sure always log in either through the mobile application or online website and platforms developed by your broker or intermediary with whom you have opened the trading account. Never use unknown or unreliable third-party applications to get access to your trading account. As you share your login details with such apps or websites they can gather your data to make use of unauthorized access with the intention to make misuse of such details.

• Keep & Use Strong Credentials to Login

• To log into your trading account you should always use a unique user ID or name with a strong password so that no one can easily crack such details. Never use a username that can be easily guessed by anyone and always use the combination of numbers and letters in upper and lower case with special charters to make your password strong. Such a combination of credentials is hard to crack and always keep such login details confidential so that none can get the access of such details.

• Protect with Additional Layer Security

• Apart from using the strong combination of user ID and password to log in to your trading account, you should also use the additional layer of security to keep safe from unauthorized access. You can enable two-factor authentication (2FA) in which at the time of login in your trading account, it will ask to submitaunique one-time password (OTP) sent to your registered mail ID or mobile number.
• When you submit the correct OTP and it is verified by the system or the mobile application or website then only you can log in to your trading account. Nowadays most of the brokers are using this two-factor authentication to ask their clients while login their trading accounts.

• Keep Updating Your Software or Apps

• Developers have already implemented high-level security features in mobile applications, web-based applications, and online platforms to keep your trading account protected from malicious files, malware, and viruses. But cybercriminals also keep working illegally to upgrade their activities and can crack outdated security layers used on mobile applications and web-based online trading platforms.
• Hence, to avoid such threats from cybercriminals you need to keep your trading account application updated with the latest versions. As to avoid such threats the mobile application developers also keep upgrading their security layers to stay safe from any kind of new cyber threats developed by the cybercriminals. Using the updated or older versions of your trading apps can be risky.

• Keep Regularly Checking your Trading Account

• If you are accessing your trading account on a daily basis for trading or investing, then you would be well aware of all the activities happening in your trading account. However, if you are not using your trading account often for trading, still you need to keep checking your trading account to keep an eye out for any kind of unauthorized transactions done without your concern.
• However, you will get an alert on your mobile number or email ID if any transaction is done into your trading account. It is mandatory by the regulatory authority for every broker and stock exchange to keep updating their clients immediately of any transaction done into their trading account. You should keep a regulatory check on your trading account to be aware of any such activity or if any updates or messages are sent by the broker regarding your trading account.

• Keep an Eye on the Phishing Messages

• Cybercriminals are using phishing messages and emails to give unauthorized tips or recommendations to buy or sell stocks using your trading account. They used to send spam URLs and lure people to click or visit such URLs. But you need to be very careful and never open such links or URLs, as they can infect your mobile phone or install malicious files that can steal your trading and demat account-related details using hidden applications running in in the background.
• Always keep an eye on such phishing messages that sent to your phone or email IDs, and never open such suspicious links unless it is sent by your broker. If possible delete such emails or messages immediately to avoid accidentally opening the link in the near future. However, you can also block such senders and understanding your social responsibility you can inform about such phishing mails to cyber cells or respective authorities who can take legal actions on such illegal entities.

• Use Additional Layer of Security on Apps & Devices

• Most discount brokers or even traditional full-fledge broking companies are now providing online trading apps to their clients so that they can trade through their smartphones from anywhere, anytime or using multiple devices as per their ease. Such cross-platform and device accessibility by end-users multiple times also invites several risks in accessing or using the applications.
• Hence, apart from using the login ID and password, you should enable the additional layer of security like OTP to verify your device and mobile number while login into your trading account. In a smartphone, you can enable biometric scans like fingerprints or a face unlocking system to access your trading account. It will help you to keep your trading account safe from unauthorized access.

• Trade with Only Secured and Encrypted Network

• Many people sometimes use the publically or freely available Wi-Fi networks to get access to their trading account so that they can execute the buy and sell transaction at a faster speed. But do you know using such an unauthorized or unsecured internet network on your smartphone or laptop could be very risky, not only for your trading account but for your device safety also?
• Also Read: Types of Risks Associated with Investing in the Stock Market
• Using an unsecured or unreliable internet network while accessing or using your trading account could be risky, as hackers can misuse such unsecured networks. Hence, while using or accessing your trading account always either use your own mobile data network or home internet network or only a reliable or secured network to keep your device as well as trading account safe.

• Safeguard your Device with Antivirus Applications

• Another most important way to keep your trading account protected from any unauthorized assess or safe from malicious files is use antivirus security protection on your computer, laptop, smartphone or any other device you use to log in to such highly confidential accounts. As owing to internet access such devices are highly vulnerable to viruses, malware and other malicious files.
• The Antivirus software or antimalware apps keep an eye on specious activities and remove the malicious files, viruses and malware trying to enter into internet-connected devices. Using the antivirus software or mobile application you can enable the alert on specific apps or attempts of any kind of unauthorized access or suspicious activities attempted in your trading account.

• Inform Immediately to Customer Support

• However, despite following all these security measures, if any kind of unauthorized transaction or suspicious activity has been done in your trading account without concern, then it is your responsibility to immediately inform your broker to block your account. You should also inform respective authorities to take legal action on such suspicious transactions.
• Hence, always keep the customer support number email ID or details of your broker to get in touch with your broker and inform about such transactions immediately as soon as they occur. It will not only protect your trading account from any further misuse or unauthorized access but also help you to recover your loss if timely informed and proper action is taken by the legal authorities.