Today, mobile banking is the primary way many Americans manage their money. It’s accessible, convenient, and saves time—but also leaves room for more security risks.
According to the 2025 State of Fraud Report, 80% of fraud events occur online or via mobile banking channels. This includes alarming incidents like account takeover, identity theft, and credit card fraud.
The same report observed that banks and financial institutions do invest equally in in-branch and digital fraud prevention. Still, attackers continue to target online and mobile banking channels more aggressively as it allows them to leverage multiple access point vulnerabilities and scale attacks to millions in seconds.
It’s a given that trusting your banks’ default security measures isn’t enough—you need to apply the best mobile banking security solutions and precautions relevant today. We’ll discuss some proactive measures that start with your device and extend to your network, habits, and choice of service providers.
9 Practical Mobile Banking Security Solutions & Precautions
From phishing and man-in-the-middle attacks to SIM swapping, mobile banking threats don’t just target your app or financial data. They aim for everything your phone can access, including stored credentials, personal files, and live transactions. Mobile banking security solutions call for protecting multiple layers: the banking app, your device, and the Wi-Fi and mobile network.
Here are some of the best mobile banking solutions and precautions to help mitigate old and new threats:
- Understand common mobile banking security risks to recognize and avoid scams
- Install apps only from trusted, verified sources
- Set up a strong, unique password for your banking account
- Take advantage of two-factor authentication
- Set up real-time notifications to spot suspicious activity quickly
- Don’t open suspicious links or files in emails
- Regularly update apps and your mobile OS to patch unknown vulnerabilities
- Avoid public Wi-Fi for banking or other sensitive work
- Use a privacy-first mobile carrier to reduce network-level risks
1. Understand Common Mobile Banking Security Risks To Recognize and Avoid Scams
Prevention begins with education—familiarize yourself with common mobile banking security risks to be able to defend yourself against them. Threats can come from various sources, and as mobile banking becomes more popular, attacks become more sophisticated.
To educate yourself on what to look out for, you can:
- Conduct a Google search on the most recent cyber threats and social engineering attacks.
- Visit your bank’s website to explore relevant blog posts, security guides, and community pages.
- Keep an eye on official updates from your bank or relevant government agencies.
- Subscribe to popular cybersecurity newsletters.
Additionally, it’s important to understand how artificial intelligence is reshaping the mobile banking threat landscape. Attackers can now use AI to automate text and voice phishing campaigns and generate convincing communication attempts. Stay cautious, and if anything feels off, double-check with your bank immediately using official contact information from their website.
Bonus read: Our mobile banking security guide will help you map the threats relevant today.
2. Install Apps Only From Trusted, Verified Sources
2024 saw some of the highest numbers of mobile banking app downloads. With this surge, it’s more important than ever to pay attention to where you’re getting the app from. Hackers often create fake versions of real banking apps that contain malware designed to steal your financial information and commit fraud.
To prevent falling for this trap, you should either:
- Download your bank’s official app from the bank’s website
- Get the app from an appropriate app marketplace (Play Store for Android or App Store for iOS). Always double-check who released the app to confirm it’s an official and reliable source
The above due diligence doesn’t just apply to mobile banking apps. Banking Trojans can be hidden in unrelated apps and farm your banking credentials, credit card details, and other sensitive data. So, be extra vigilant while downloading any app. A good idea is to install a mobile antivirus app to continuously scan for suspicious activity and neutralize threats.
3. Set Up a Strong, Unique Password for Your Banking Account
Take measures to protect both your phone and your banking app with a strong password or biometrics verification. If your device gets lost or stolen, this helps block intruders from accessing your data.
A strong password involves a longer combination (at least 12 characters) of uppercase and lowercase letters, symbols, and numbers. Simpler passwords are easier for hackers or AI-powered tools to guess or crack, increasing the risk of banking app breaches.
The situation can get worse if you tend to use the same password across your apps and accounts. That means any unrelated breach could potentially reveal the password to all your sensitive accounts.
Here are a few password hygiene best practices to keep in mind:
Enhancing your security is also about what you shouldn’t do:
- Don’t share passwords with others
- Don’t write down your passwords in your phone’s notes
- Don’t use personal details in your passwords
4. Take Advantage of Two-Factor Authentication
Most mobile banking apps offer two-factor authentication (2FA)—an extra security layer that helps confirm your identity. This means that even if someone guesses your password, 2FA would block unauthorized access to the app.
Typically, the first form of authentication is your password, while the second varies depending on the app. In most cases, it’s one of the following:
- SMS one-time password (OTP)
- Fingerprint
- Push notification
Know that 2FA may not be enabled in your banking app by default. Go through the menu or security settings to see if the option is available and set it up for enhanced security and peace of mind.
5. Set Up Real-Time Notifications To Spot Suspicious Activity Quickly
Real-time alerts provided by banks via SMS or push notifications help you detect suspicious activity immediately and react before your account is compromised.
If you receive a notification for a charge you didn’t make, you can quickly reach out to your bank to block your cards or freeze your account. Some mobile banking apps can also send notifications for login attempts, so you can spot an intruder right away and take adequate precautions.
Most modern apps offer real-time notifications, but you may need to enable them manually depending on the app’s default settings. Some apps may even allow customization—for example, you may be able to set up notifications for transactions below or above a certain limit or adjust your spending limits.
6. Don’t Open Suspicious Links or Files in Emails
According to recent statistics, phishing and social engineering maneuvers account for 36% of cybersecurity breaches. With rapid developments in technology, phishing emails or texts typically contain one or more of the following elements:
- Sense of urgency to act as soon as possible
- Claims of problems with your account or transactions
- Warnings of suspicious activity detected on your account
- Generic greetings, such as “Dear client” instead of your name
- Requirements to verify specific information via a link
- Spelling and grammar errors
- Mismatched email domains, where the sender’s address isn’t your bank's official domain or contains subtle errors
If you’ve received a suspicious email or link but aren’t sure if your bank is actually behind it, don’t reply—instead, reach out to your bank’s official customer support. Here are other tips to stay safe:
- Hover above URLs before clicking to detect any rogue patterns
- Review attachments before downloading
- Keep your antivirus software updated to block malicious content
7. Regularly Update Apps and Your Mobile OS To Patch Unknown Vulnerabilities
App and operating system updates address security issues identified in previous versions and ensure you’re equipped with the latest protections against emerging threats. Cyberattackers often target outdated systems and apps as their vulnerabilities are easier to exploit.
Skipping updates for your device or mobile banking app can make you susceptible to attacks, data breaches, and other security issues. You can enable automatic updates to ensure you’re always running the latest versions.
8. Avoid Public Wi-Fi for Banking or Other Sensitive Work
Public Wi-Fi networks present some of the biggest mobile banking security risks today. They typically don’t require passwords, so anyone can easily connect to them, including hackers.
Once on the network, hackers can distribute malware or intercept the communication between your device and the server, potentially gaining access to your accounts and apps.
If you have to connect to an unsecured network, it’s best to avoid conducting banking activities while on it. If you can’t prevent that, use a virtual private network (VPN) to create an encrypted tunnel for internet traffic and protect your data from malicious actors connected to the public network.
9. Consider a Privacy-First Mobile Carrier To Reduce Network-Level Risks
One of the best ways to minimize network-level threats in 2025 is to use a mobile carrier like Cape that prioritizes privacy, security, and minimal data collection.
Why?
Even after using secure Wi-Fi, mobile banking threats can persist on the network level because most of the telecom industry runs on decades-old infrastructure, which has allowed attackers to spot and exploit multiple vulnerabilities.
Cape is a privacy-first mobile carrier built on minimal trust requirements. Unlike other carriers, Cape doesn’t hoard your personal and financial information. As a result, nobody can steal the data you never provided.
Major carriers like Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile may seem safe, but they’ve faced numerous attacks in recent years. Particularly, SIM swaps are one of the biggest threats to look out for when it comes to banking and device security.
SIM swappers often exploit weaknesses in telecom processes by manipulating customer support, impersonating victims in stores, bribing staff, or hacking carrier platforms. Such actions can easily help them gain access to your 2FA codes and banking apps. In a recent example, actress Sydney Sweeney was hit with a SIM swap attack, resulting in her Verizon phone number and an associated account being compromised.
Cape can minimize the risk of SIM swaps because of modern account authentication protocols and no humans in the loop.
Bonus: You can explore prominent SIM swap attacks in Cape's data breach timeline, as well as read up on how we avoid major telecom vulnerabilities.
Cape: The Most Secure Carrier in the US
Cape is the only privacy-focused carrier in the U.S. that operates its own cloud-based mobile core. It’s software-based and replaces Big Telcos’ weak legacy architecture. The result is a secure channel that manages all domestic or international communication and is far more resistant to network attacks.
Below are Cape’s key security features:
Cape offers a single pricing plan for maximum predictability and transparency. All security features plus unlimited 4G and 5G and unlimited calls and texts cost $99/month, with no hidden costs.
Set Up Your Cape Account
If you’re ready to take your network privacy to new levels, you can quickly create your Cape account by visiting cape.co/getcape using your eSIM-compatible device.
Cape also partnered with Proton to provide subscribers with Proton Unlimited or Proton VPN Plus for just $1 for six months.
