Protect Yourself from Phishers – Bank Account Firewall

Ever worry about the the hundreds of PayPal phishing e-mails you get saying that your account has been or will be suspended, all you need to do is login using this link and it will be taken care of? If it worries you that you need to give out account to certain online companies like PayPal then maybe you need to build a firewall!

MyMoneyBlog gives complete directions on how to set up a “firewall” checking account that you can use to protect your regular checking account from getting drained if it somehow gets compromised.

The idea is to set up a separate bank account that is only funded when you are buying something and any funds are removed after you have sold something. The worse then that can happen is an NSF fee if someone gets into your account. Better to pay $20 than loose $1000+.

First thing you need is a bank account that does not require a minimum balance. I suggest ING Direct. You can even get $25 for opening the account if you use one of my kid’s ING referral codes (and one of my kids gets $10) if you leave $250 in the account for 30 days.