Whenever a bank issues a security threat to its customers, other banks seem to suffer a drop in Internet traffic and account usage, too. This is not because people don't trust the other banks, it's because customers are reminded of how susceptible they are to fraud. It's our money after all, and of course we don't what to have it stolen from us. Banks do post a guarantee along these lines.

'We guarantee if any money is taken from your account through a computer crime, we will repay it in full.'

Banks pride themselves on providing top notch online banking security to their customers. They also pride themselves on providing customers with the best information about their security. Many banks will provide the details on their website. They might tell you how they have the latest in encryption software so that no hackers can steal passwords or any other information you send. Banks use a combination of hardware and software encryption devices to protect access to your accounts and personal details.

When you go to the login page, and you will most likely get a pop up window stating that you are now being directed to a secure site. And what you input here will not be visible to anyone else. That statement is true, the bank does not and never will provide your login password or any other sensitive information to anyone else. Naturally, the online bank expects you to do a few things to protect your account, so never disclose your password (for example don't write it down or email it to anyone, or let anyone else see what you are typing in when you log on). So here you enter your login details and answer a security question to enter your account. Don't forget to always log off when you've finished your transactions, this is most important.

The banks also run regular maintenance on the website pages, so that they can pick up on any small errors that they may on their system. This regular maintenance is usually done with prior warning to the customer, but it will mostly be done when there is the lowest amount of traffic to cause the least disruption possible to its online banking customers.

Online banking security is paramount to banks that have online banking services and they will never jeopardise your trust to save a dollar. If the customer losses faith in the bank's security then the bank will lose many customers.