When you think about protecting yourself from fraud, you might think about creating strong passwords, avoiding suspicious emails or being careful about what information you share online.

Those are all important steps. But there’s another tool you may already have with you every day: your banking app.

Your mobile banking app can do much more than help you check your balance or transfer money. It can also give you tools to monitor your accounts, manage your cards and stay informed about activity involving your finances.

As part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month this October, take a few minutes to explore the security and account-management features available through your mobile banking.

Keep an Eye on Your Account Activity

One of the simplest ways to help protect your finances is to regularly review your account activity. When you know what transactions are appearing in your accounts, it can be easier to recognize something that doesn’t look right. Make checking your recent transactions part of your regular financial routine.

Midwest Heritage online and mobile banking gives you access to your account balances and transaction information, making it easy to stay connected to your finances wherever you are.

The goal isn’t to worry about every transaction. It’s to know what’s happening with your money so you can recognize when something is out of the ordinary.

Put Card Controls in Your Hands

Misplaced your debit card? You don’t necessarily have to wait until you can get to a branch or call the bank. With Midwest Heritage Card Controls, you can freeze and unfreeze your card directly through the mobile app. When your card is frozen, new transactions will be declined.

That’s a useful feature to know about before you need it.

Take a moment to familiarize yourself with Card Controls now. That way, if your card ever goes missing, you’ll know where to go and what to do.

Let Your Bank Know When You’re Traveling

Travel can sometimes look different from your everyday spending patterns.

Midwest Heritage Card Controls includes travel notifications, allowing you to let the bank know when you’re traveling.

Before heading out on your next trip, check your mobile banking app and make sure your travel information is up to date. It’s a small step that can help avoid unnecessary disruptions while you’re away.

Use Financial Tools to Understand Your Spending

Fraud prevention isn’t only about catching a fraudulent transaction after it happens. Knowing your normal financial activity can also make unusual activity easier to recognize.

Midwest Heritage mobile and online banking includes financial tools that can help you keep track of your finances. The Spending tool allows you to view spending by category, while Trends shows how your money has been spent over the past three, six or nine months.

The more familiar you are with your normal financial activity, the easier it may be to notice when something doesn’t belong.

Pay Attention to Your Notifications

Mobile notifications can be easy to dismiss, especially when your phone seems to buzz all day. But when a notification involves your finances, take a moment to pay attention. If you receive an alert about account or card activity you don’t recognize, investigate it.

And remember that scammers can use fake texts, emails and phone calls to create a sense of urgency. Never assume a message is legitimate simply because it appears to be from your bank.

If you receive a suspicious message claiming to be from your bank, don’t click the link. Instead, open your banking app directly or contact your financial institution using a trusted phone number.

Don’t Forget About Credit Monitoring

Your banking app may also give you tools to keep an eye on your credit.

Midwest Heritage customers have access to SavvyMoney Credit Score through online and mobile banking. SavvyMoney provides credit score information and can send alerts when there has been an update to your credit score.

Monitoring your credit can give you another way to stay informed about changes that may deserve your attention.

Make Your Banking App Part of Your Security Routine

Cybersecurity doesn’t always require complicated technology or hours of work. Sometimes, it’s simply about using the tools you already have.

This Cybersecurity Awareness Month, take a few minutes to review your mobile banking app and ask yourself:

• Do I regularly review my account activity?
• Do I know how to freeze my card if it is lost or stolen?
• Have I set up travel notifications when appropriate?
• Am I using the financial tools available through my banking app?
• Am I paying attention to notifications related to my finances?
• Am I taking advantage of available credit-monitoring tools?

This October, make cybersecurity part of your financial routine and take advantage of the tools designed to help you stay informed and in control.

Visit Midwest Heritage Online & Mobile Banking to learn more about the tools available to help you manage your money – https://www.midwestheritage.com/personal/banking/online-mobile-banking/.