So, when you think about what being “good with money” means today, security should be at the top of the list.

“With the right tech set-up and using the right layers of defence, you’re giving yourself the best chance of keeping your hard-earned money safe,” says head of payments and deposits at Macquarie Bank, Olivia McArdle.

“It doesn’t need to be a difficult or scary process, it’s just a matter of staying informed and making sure you’re choosing the most secure options for you.”

Building your digital smarts

As fraud and scams become more common in Australia, Dr Sushmita Ruj, engineering faculty lead at the UNSW Institute for Cybersecurity, says Australians need to be proactive in keeping their transactions secure.

“Nowadays many people are going digital, tapping your card and paying bills online — it’s a lot different to what we were doing earlier when we went into the bank,” she says.

Dr Ruj says that means using hard-to-guess passwords, covering your hand when you enter your pin number in public, being wary of unsolicited texts, emails and calls asking you to share personal information, and using multi-factor authentication (MFA).

MFA refers to when a service provider requires two or more proofs of identity to verify you.

“It could be using your pin plus your password or getting a one-time password or using an authentication app,” she says.

“It’s very good to use authentication apps — essentially what you are doing is proving your identity to get access to things; you actually have to prove that you are the valid user.”

The goal of these apps is to provide an extra layer of defence to your accounts — so if a fraudster cracks your password, they would also have to find a way to access your next method of verification.

“MFA defends against the majority of password-related cyberattacks,” according to the Australian Cyber Security Centre.

“Having an extra step can be inconvenient at first, but remember that taking shortcuts leaves your system more vulnerable.”

Stay ahead of the curve on SMS

Scammers and fraudsters use SMS in a range of ways to target your money, including by illegally obtaining your phone number to send you messages, or by attempting to impersonate an institution you trust.

“To make these message look real, scammers spoof (copy) the phone number and sender ID of businesses or people you know,” Scamwatch notes.

“Scam messages can even appear in the same message chain as real messages from the organisation, making them even harder to spot.”

Also, if a scammer or fraudster ports your phone number without your consent, they become the new owner of your number — and if you use SMS verification, they can access your verification texts. “Porting” is when a phone number is transferred to another telecommunications provider.

SMS verification provides an additional layer of defence and for the most part can be an effective deterrent for scammers and fraudsters. However, it’s not the most secure option on the market — and as technology evolves over time, your own toolkit should, too.

Macquarie Authenticator is a multi-factor authentication app designed to maximise your security and provide a beautiful banking experience. To learn more, visit Macquarie.com.au/Authenticator.