How you can keep your money and information secure

Never reveal your banking user ID or PIN to anyone.

The amount of data collected about us is constantly increasing, and we are leaving crumbs of data about ourselves whenever we go about our everyday business. Data collection has enabled many services that make our lives easier, but sometimes it is also a cause of concern: is my data safe, and how can I protect myself? Read our specialists’ tips for keeping yourself secure and for protecting your data.

There are many factors involved in protecting confidential information and using services securely, and every one of us can influence them. We are continuously working to ensure that our customers can use our services securely. There are also some small steps you can take to protect your data.

1. Never reveal your user IDs or PIN to anyone

The bank and the authorities will never ask for your online banking user IDs. They are intended for your personal use only. Also, we will never ask you for your payment card details by SMS, email or other messaging applications. We will never send links to websites where you are expected to sign in with your online banking user IDs or enter your payment card details. If someone contacts you and asks for your online banking user IDs or card details, the person is likely to be trying to get information for criminal purposes.

2. Keep your user IDs and password safe

Do not save them in an easily-readable form or in a place where someone else could get hold of them. 

3. Set security limits for your accounts

A security limit determines how much money can be spent from your account in a day. It may prevent your account from going empty if your banking user ID falls into the wrong hands.

4. Set security limits for your cards

Debit and credit card security limits may prevent your account from going empty if your card is stolen. You can set the security limits according to your consumption preferences and edit them at any time. For example, if you don’t normally withdraw any cash, you can set the withdrawal limit at zero.

5. Always check the payment recipient’s details

When making a payment, check that the IBAN account number you entered is correct. As a result, your money won’t end up in an incorrect account due to an incorrect account number.

Do this: Check that the account number was received from a reliable party and that you entered it correctly. 

6. Never confirm payments or transactions which you didn’t select for confirmation yourself.

Transactions you perform with your user IDs are confirmed either with Mobile-ID, Smart-ID, PIN Calculator or ID card. Confirmation requests are always sent in real time when you are using your user IDs. Read any confirmation requests you have received with care.

Do this: Check that the information in the confirmation request matches the transaction you are performing at the time. If any of the information does not match, is wrong, or you are not using your user ID at the time, do not confirm the transaction.

7. Monitor your account transactions and credit card charges

Sometimes, invoicing errors occur by accident, so it is always a good idea to be attentive.

8. Remember to take good care of information on paper.

Dispose of paper invoices and other documents containing your personal data with care. Do not put them in the paper recycling bin. If you have a postbox, keep it locked.

9. Make sure you are on the authentic OP website whenever using the online bank

Always enter the address for the online bank (www.opbank.lv) in your browser’s address bar personally whenever logging into the online bank. Do not log into any online bank through a link or search engine results (such as Bing or Google) since they may direct you to a phishing website.

Check the browser’s address bar to make sure that you are at the right address, and that the address is protected.

10. Protect your smart device and computer

Ensure that your computer, tablet and smartphone are protected. As a result, your personal data and banking details are better protected against viruses and other malware spread by criminals. We recommend that you lock your smart device with a PIN or fingerprint or face recognition. 

Do this: Protect all your devices using an up-to-date anti-virus program and firewall. Keep the operating systems and apps of your devices updated regularly to keep them safe and secure. Always use strong passwords and activate multi-factor authentication, if possible.

11. Make sure that the software and protection on your computer and mobile devices are up to date

Only install applications that you use and need on your computer or mobile device to reduce the number of applications you need to protect. Do not install on your devices any software whose security you can’t reliably determine – particularly if you receive a sudden installation request from an unexpected party.

If possible, we recommend that you enable on your mobile devices a setting that will automatically update applications whenever a new update is available. As regards applications installed automatically by your computer, check regularly if there are any updates available. Always install updates as soon as they are available.

12. Make sure that a call received from the bank is genuine

Scammers also place calls in the name of bank. This is why it’s important to make sure you’re talking to a genuine bank representative. We kindly request to inform us if you have received a scammer's call in the name of OP.

We never ask you to identify yourself during a call through links or by requesting your banking user ID.