Retirement funds are the savings that are made by people over the years. One needs to be aware and protect these funds from illegal cybercriminals. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation protects the bank accounts (for losses up to $250,000). However, you need to be more than careful to avoid the thieves bugging into your account. Although many brokerages have customer protection guarantees, in case of an unauthorized account activity, it is the utmost responsibility of the customers to observe and update the same instantly.

Thus, here are some steps through which you can safeguard your retirement account from any such peril.

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• Stay alert
  In order to stay ahead of the hackers, you must know the basics. You must keep yourself updated with the online fraud policies and must abide the recommendations of your financial institution. If you find any discrepancies in your bank account or statements, you can ask the bank officials to help you out to understand the whole situation.
• Better late than never
  This is more of a damage control move rather than being a preventative one. It is advised to keep checking the account every week or two to make sure that your money has not been siphoned by other means. Hence, even if you are mugged, an early detection will help increase the chances of recovering your funds back in time. Do not wait for the quarterly account statement in the mail.
• Have a strong password for your bank accounts
  Are you one of those who has ‘Password’ as their password? Well, do not go down this lane. Always use strong passwords to lock your accounts by comprising a mix of lowercase, uppercase characters, and alphanumeric characters. Also, keep changing your passwords after every six months or so and avoid reusing the same password for multiple accounts.
• Defense is the best attack
  In order to defend your account from an online theft, keep your anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall protection updated.
• Avoid public Wi-Fi
  The cyber-experts advise not to use public computers or public Wi-Fi to check your account.
• Trust no one
  You must keep your password and username to yourself and not disclose the credentials to anyone including your financial advisors and family members.
• Dodge the traps
  Providing personal information, such as your name, account number, or Social Security number, in response to an email is a huge mistake. Never fall into the traps of online burglars who offer you fancy and exciting deals on their products and services.
• Log out
  Last, but definitely not the least, never forget to log out after using the services of your retirement account.

These simple steps may sound usual but they go a long way in saving your money. Following these crucial online security habits will let you sleep peacefully without having to worry about your funds.

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