Between 2013 and 2023, the percentage of U.S. households that use mobile banking as the primary method to access their accounts skyrocketed from 5.5% to 48.3%. This massive shift underscores how mobile banking has transformed the financial landscape with its speed and convenience.
These perks, however, open the door to a host of threats from hackers, scammers, and data thieves. You need a robust strategy for mobile banking security to minimize the risks that come from device and app vulnerabilities, as well as network-level threats.
In this guide, we’ll explain:
- How secure mobile banking is
- What risks you could be exposed to
- How to mitigate them with the latest best practices
What Is Mobile Banking?
Mobile banking involves managing your bank account and financial transactions using a smartphone or tablet, typically via an app or a mobile-optimized website. The idea is to conduct basic activities like checking your balance, depositing checks, paying bills, and more without going to the bank.
Mobile banking offers portability and speed—you can access your app 24/7, manage your money with confidence, and even explore other services like loans and investments. It’s different from online banking, which is primarily designed for larger screens and can be accessed only through the website. On the contrary, mobile banking stands out because of factors such as:
- Mobile-optimized menu and actions
- Integrations with other mobile apps and wallets
- Push notifications
- Biometric logins
Mobile banking is especially popular among younger generations—in a 2022 report, over 75% of individuals aged 15 to 24 in the United States reported using it for transactions.
It’s worth distinguishing mobile banking from mobile payments. The latter refers to using mobile devices to initiate a payment, whether through an app or a website, and it may not be tied to a bank account.
Why Is Mobile Banking Security Important?
Mobile banking security is a significant consideration because your sensitive personal data, such as account number and credit cards, can be exposed at multiple access points, including the mobile app, your device, and the Wi-Fi or mobile network that connects them. If any of these access points are compromised, hackers or other malicious actors could get a hold of your information to:
- Steal your identity
- Make fraudulent transactions
- Completely drain your accounts
- Damage your credit
- Sell your information on the dark web
Naturally, the ideal strategy is to limit the risks at all vulnerable access points. In the following sections, we’ll discuss both the strengths and vulnerabilities of mobile banking security.
Strengths: How Safe and Secure Is Mobile Banking?
If you’re asking, “How secure are mobile banking apps?” The answer is—very.
Banks are particular about providing app-level protections and built-in safeguards. That’s why official mobile banking apps downloaded from reliable sources protect your personal and financial information with robust security measures, including:
Despite these robust mobile banking application security measures, there are vulnerabilities to watch out for, especially those that arise at the device and network levels.
Vulnerabilities: 5 Common Mobile Banking Security Threats
Most mobile banking vulnerabilities stem from the larger ecosystem, including weak network infrastructure and social engineering attacks. Here are five common security issues you should be aware of:
- Phishing
- Banking trojans
- Fake mobile banking apps
- Unsecured networks
- Device theft or loss
1. Phishing
In the mobile banking context, phishing is a fraudulent set of practices where attackers use deceptive emails and messages to impersonate your bank and trick you into revealing sensitive information. For instance, you could get an email containing fraudulent links that require you to reveal info such as:
- Username and password for the banking app
- Credit card information and CVC
- Social Security number
To make these emails appear credible, attackers will often use an email address that resembles the bank’s official email, but with slight (and often hard-to-notice) variations, such as misspelled words or extra or missing characters.
Clicking on suspicious links or even engaging with any phishing attempts, such as fraudulent phone calls and voice messages (vishing) and text messages (smishing), could give hackers the data they need to access your account through the banking app.
2. Banking Trojans
Banking Trojans are a type of malware specifically designed to steal financial information. They’re typically “disguised” as legitimate apps, files, or links—once they infiltrate the system, they collect your mobile banking app credentials, card info, and other sensitive data.
With mobile banking now being mainstream, banking Trojans have become increasingly common. According to Kaspersky’s 2024 Financial Cyberthreats report, the number of users affected by banking Trojans in 2024 rose by 3.6 times compared to 2023.
To give you a more practical insight, the industry saw a commonly distributed banking Trojan called Mamont (mammoth in Russian) in 2024. Here’s how it works:
- Attackers pose as sellers offering goods at wholesale prices. To make a purchase, the victim is invited to a Telegram chat where they can see questions from other “customers,” which convinces them that the sellers are legit.
- Scammers don’t require any prepayment. This convinces the victim that they have nothing to lose by ordering.
- Scammers notify the victim that their order has been placed and that they can track the package through a special app with the provided tracking number.
- Scammers send a link for downloading the app, which is the banking malware. Once the victim enters the “tracking number,” the Trojan begins to intercept push notifications (like confirmation codes for banking transactions), SMS, and calls, and functions in the background, potentially gaining access to all kinds of personal info.
So far, the primary targets of Mamont are Russian-based Android owners, but there’s no way to tell if users from other countries are immune to this attack.
3. Fake Mobile Banking Apps
Hackers may try to trick you into downloading a mobile banking app that looks 100% legit with an identical logo, colors, and interface—it mimics the original app functionalities to the letter but is in fact designed to steal your banking info.
Here’s how that usually works:
- You download the app and try to log in using your credentials, but you see an error message.
- Hackers steal your credentials and use them to log in to the real app, gaining full access to your account. By the time you realize what happened, your account could be emptied.
4. Unsecured Networks
Public Wi-Fi networks often lack advanced security measures, making them an attractive target for hackers. Unsecured networks are the perfect territory for man-in-the-middle attacks—a hacker intercepts the communication between you and the banking app server. Through this “eavesdropping,” the hacker can access your financial information.
Unsecured networks can also serve as entry points for malware, which could infect your device and access your mobile banking app as we discussed earlier.
Network risks don’t just stop at public Wi-Fi—your mobile carrier network can also expose you to risks. Data from your mobile may travel through your carrier’s infrastructure. So, any breach or unauthorized surveillance on the carrier network could expose your financial activity.
Most major carriers today, including AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, rely on old infrastructure with several vulnerabilities arising from outdated security protocols. In a breach reported in June 2025, hackers allegedly stole 64 million T-Mobile records, including data that could enable identity theft and financial fraud.
Tip 💡 To reduce the vulnerabilities of unsecure mobile networks, consider switching to privacy-native mobile carriers like Cape. We run our own mobile network that replaces Big Telcos’ weak legacy infrastructure. The result is a secure channel that manages all domestic or international communication seamlessly and is far more resistant to network attacks. You can explore this blog to see what Cape does better and how.
5. Device Theft or Loss
Access to mobile banking apps is typically protected by a password at the very least, so a stolen or lost device may not be alarming right away. The problem is, many people keep their usernames and passwords in their phones (usually in notes). The person who has your phone can browse your notes and find credentials for logging into various apps, including mobile banking.
Even if you don’t keep passwords in your phone, you’re likely logged in to your email account. With enough skills, a person could use your email to gain access to your bank account apps.
SIM swapping is another security risk in mobile banking—the person with your phone in their possession could convince your mobile provider to transfer your number to a new SIM they control. This way, they can access your text messages and calls, which helps them access two-factor authentication and OTP codes and potentially log in to your mobile banking app.
Besides device theft/loss, SIM swaps can also happen if your carrier or its partner MVNOs are breached.
Best Practices for Secure Mobile Banking in 2025
Here are some valuable tips on improving security in mobile banking and minimizing known risks:
- Don’t respond to calls, emails, or texts from “your bank”: Don’t engage with anyone who poses as your bank, especially if it’s an unsolicited call, text, or email. Instead, call the official number of your bank and check whether they were the ones reaching out to you.
- Download apps from reliable sources: Never download banking apps from sources other than the bank’s official website or the app marketplace for your phone. If you choose the latter, double-check the developer who issued the app and browse through reviews.
- Use a strong password: Don’t use your personal info or predictable passwords to protect your phone. Instead, use a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols, and change passwords for each account.
- Set up 2FA: Wherever possible, set up 2FA for additional protection against hackers and potential intruders.
- Keep your operating system and apps updated: Hackers can take advantage of security vulnerabilities in outdated systems and banking apps. To prevent that, set up automatic updates.
- Switch to a privacy-first carrier: Your mobile carrier should minimize the risk of mobile banking security issues at the network level (such as SIM swapping or data interception) by employing strong security measures. Unfortunately, all major carriers have experienced numerous data breaches in the last few years, exposing customers to unnecessary risk.
You may want to switch to a privacy-first carrier alternative such as Cape, which reduces your exposure by limiting the personal data collected and strengthening network security protocols.
Get Robust Network-Level Security With Cape
Cape has revolutionized network security with its minimal-trust model. Unlike other carriers, such as AT&T and Verizon, which collect and store reserves of your personal and financial information, Cape only collects the bare-minimum data necessary to provide service—never your Social Security number, location, or even your name.
Cape significantly minimizes network-level threats with several standout features, including:
Cape's mobile core is software-based and exists in the cloud, meaning that implementing modern security protocols is faster and more agile, and gives us more control over how subscriber data interacts with the systems.
Get Cape: Costs and Signup
Cape’s $99/month plan includes unlimited high-speed 4G and 5G, as well as unlimited texts, calls, and international roaming when applicable. There are no hidden costs or extra taxes for accessing privacy and security features.
You need an eSIM-compatible device to switch to Cape. To get started, you can visit cape.co/get-cape.
Cape has partnered with Proton to offer subscribers Proton Unlimited or Proton VPN Plus for just $1 for six months.
