Millions of Americans using online banking services

New Orleans CityBusiness, Jul 12, 2004 by Tommy Santora

Regulation E of the federal Electronic Funds Transfer Act, passed by Congress in 2000, protects consumers from losing money in cases of identity fraud if consumers let banks know of fraudulent transactions immediately. In many cases, consumers can lose no more than $50 if they notify the bank in less than two days, while the loss jumps to as much as $500 after two days and unlimited losses are tagged to consumers who fail to give notice after 60 days. Rules and procedures in account fraud can be found in banking online agreements.

Lisa Troulliet, a retail sales representative at Omni Bank, said bank security now requires changing the password reminder to three questions instead of one.

We try to go the extra step in our security, she said. We just want to make sure it's the correct person logging into the account. Customers don't mind the extra security. They'd rather be safe.