Finance Wanted.

By Tom Tessin

When banking online, some people worry about banking with a bank that might be fishy or could be a scam. In order to avoid this, there are many things you can do to make sure that you don't fall into a scam trap. Even though you can usually point out a scummy bank from miles, there are always some that cut through the cracks that mange to steal millions from innocent people.

Scams are all over the place. They range from telemarketers to the internet. Nobody likes to hear that they were just taken for a ride and the sole purpose of this article today is to inform you on how you can check to see if the online bank you're banking with or want to bank with is legit.

The FDIC mark

If a bank is FDIC insured, this is a great sign. The purposes of the FDIC mark it to make sure that your money is insured just in case the bank does go under. Just because there's a FDIC logo on the banks website doesn't mean they are insured. Anyone can copy and paste a FDIC logo on their website and call themselves a bank. The best way to find out if a bank is insured is to go to the FDIC's website at fdic.gov and do a search on the bank. If the bank is insured, you will see the name pop up and it will give you a lot of information.

Check the contact information

When you're doing your banking online, see what kind of contact information they provide. If the bank doesn't provide you with a toll free number to call, this is a huge red flag. All legitimate banks will provide you with a phone number to call just in case you have any questions. Also look for contact information. Feel free to make sure the address is legitimate online. It's always safe to call the number too before banking just to see who's on the other line. Ask as many questions as possible to make sure that they are real and legit.

Do they have branches?

Obviously if you're banking with a bank like Bank of America, they are going to be a legitimate bank but some internet banks do have a few branches that not that many people know about. All of this information is usually found on their website with branch locations and addresses. If an online bank does have a branch, you can feel confident that the bank won't scam you out of your money.

If you follow these three steps, you should be able to avoid any scam online when it comes to your money. Make sure that you take note of the first point and look for the FDIC logo, this is very important. Remember, if you ever find anything fishy regarding an online bank, contact the local authorities as soon as possible because not only will you be saving yourself but also someone in the future that might fall into the scam trap.

Tom Tessin is an author for GOtalkmoney.com that is geared toward investors looking for cd interest rates