Online Bill Paying Safety Tips For Seniors

Paying bills online is generally pretty safe, and it can be very convenient for seniors who have trouble getting out to run errands. But there are some instances where paying bills online can expose seniors to fraud and scams. Seniors should always be careful when they are putting their financial information into a website or using the internet to pay for anything. In-home care can help seniors pay bills safely online. There are a lot of benefits that come from having in-home care like help with errands, help with housework, and help with paying bills and shopping online. To pay bills online safely seniors should:

Never Use Public Wifi

Seniors that are paying bills online should never access public Wifi to pay their bills. When using public Wifi it’s possible for others to gain access to that senior’s personal information and financial information, especially if they are not using an encrypted app to pay the bill. Seniors should only pay bills online when they’re at home on their own network that is password protected. Seniors shouldn’t be doing any banking online using public Wifi. They can use cellular data though, because that has much better security typically.

Check The Fraud Protection On Payment Services

Using a payment service like CashApp, Zelle, or Venmo is a popular way to pay bills online because the money can be drawn from a bank account or a credit card. But not all payment services have comprehensive fraud protection. Seniors that want to use a payment service to pay their bills online should make sure that they use one that has good fraud protection so that if they were to get scammed the service wouldn’t hold them liable for any money lost.

Go Through The Bank Directly

Seniors can automate their online bill paying by setting up online bill payments through their bank. Most banks now make it easy for seniors to set up automatic monthly payments for bills so that seniors don’t have to remember when the bills are due. With automatic payments seniors can enter the code of the business that is receiving the money, the amount of money, and the date and then once that’s set seniors can just relax knowing the bills will get paid on time. Automatic payments make it easy for seniors to never miss a bill payment.

Use Two-Factor Authentication

Two-factor authentication, where seniors must sign into the bank with a code that is texted or emailed to them, is a pain. But it does help protect seniors and their money. Seniors should have two-factor authentication turned on so that their bank will send a text or a code automatically when the senior tries to log in. Without the right code seniors will be locked out of their account. Even though using two-factor authentication can be irritating it does help protect seniors and their money so it’s worth using. Seniors who need help verifying their account can get the help they need from an in-home care provider so that they are able to pay their bills online.