Quick–hide the money! According to American Public Media’s Marketline, it turns out that online banking is not very secure. No big surprise there. But don’t look to the bank for help when your account gets hacked, they report. Unlike personal checking and savings accounts, business accounts are not protected by federal insurance from losses to hackers. And few small businesses have the resources to fund the legal effort it takes to recover their stolen money.

Quote:

It was March 2010, the height of the financial crisis, and the housing market was in the dumps. Michelle Marsico, who owns Village View Escrow south of Los Angeles, was having a slow day. So slow, in fact, that she didn’t bother logging on to check her bank account, because she didn’t have any deposits coming in or any money going out. Two days later, when she did log on, she saw $465,000 was missing from her firm’s bank account. She found out later, she was the victim of hackers. “I just kind of went into shock,” she says. “And then I thought, well, I’m going to call my bank (and) they can put the money back in.” Wrong again. Unlike personal checking and savings accounts, business accounts are not protected from hackers. “Small mom-and-pop shops do not understand that banking online comes with serious risks,” says Brian Krebs, a cyber-security expert and blogger. He adds that many small companies get hacked so often, they have go out of business.

See Full Story: “Hacked Small Business’ Often Have No Place To Turn

(Featured image: on Flickr via Michael Molenda )

Related Articles