How Safe is My Digital Money?

Muppet Detector on 18/02/2025 - 22:42

I can remember having to pay cash for all purposes. Then, the first few times I used my eftpos card, just completely concerned me. I just couldn't come to terms with my money leaving my account, floating overhead like a williwonka chocolate bar only for it to magically restore itself another account that I hoped was the right one. Couldn't comprehend a world where that would ever become a significant way in which we handle financial transactions.

And gone are the days where I stash cash all around a bunch of strategic places, or have my little account book outlining my deposits and withdrawals and we definitely don't keep millions inhome safes for Scrooge McDuck,Richie Rich and Demi more to run frolick and rump among their millions.

Nope, these days, our money is represented on a screen. Depending on how the stock exchange reacts at times, can have significant detrimental affects on the value of my investment based on the confidence of people telling them to buy or sell.

Then there is my lonely little old day to day bank account and my savings account details and amounts,,, but all it takes is one hacker to enter where they are stored and reduce the amount that was in that account down to $0.

Waiting for the day that some dude who is smarter than me can just take possession of my accounts, drain them leaving me with nothing and Henry hacker just floats away in cyberspace having transferred all my money over to him.

I genuinely check my bank account statements with the thought in the back of my head is that my accounts were cleaned out over night and they now all contain $0 .sigh of release when things are as they should be.

Old habits do die hard though, I have a floor safe that was cemented into the house slab as it was being laid. They will have to blow that sucker out of there to get access to that money, even if the burglars find it) as it was poured and keep a doomsday backup plan in there if these electronic gate keepers get hacked or infiltrated and told to redirect my money so that my limit becomes $0

Watching stocks going up and down is about as much excitement I can bare to see.

Financial

Comments

  • boomramada on 18/02/2025 - 22:46
    +8

    Your digital money more safer than hiding it under the bed, as long as you aren't transferring to your online gf or giving someone your bank details over the phone.

  • OpenHand on 18/02/2025 - 22:52
    +2

    Hello mate,

    All I can say is the world of cash and tangible assets is dead and only exists in your memories.

    You might feel uncomfortable with it, but the vast majority of value in the modern world exists only as a digital representation of something. Something like 7% of the money supply is in actual physical cash, and maybe 80% of payments in australia are made digitally.

    As long as you avoid scammers and phishing - which have been around in various forms since before we had online banks - your money is fine.

    You should be more concerned with the fact so much of it gets printed and inflated away every year that whatever you hold is worth less and less.

    Finance has been instrumentalized and abstracted away into markets that are totally divorced from the day to day lives of most people.

    If I had any advice, it's stick your investments in some diversified ETFs and don't worry about it. Never mind your safe.

    And just remember, you can't take it with you.

  • cashless on 18/02/2025 - 22:54
    +7

    Very safe provided you don’t let your Welsh gf clean up your old hard drives into landfill

  • Muppet Detector on 18/02/2025 - 22:55
    -6

    Interesting, probably non related thing I did learn for those who are interested is the dilemma about what you should do if you ask your bank teller or ATM For let's say, $500, they give you the money but as you walk away, you realise they've actually given you $5000.

    Finder's Keepers, losers weepers?
    Possession is 9/10 law?
    Their mistake, they gave it to me, now it's mine to keep and spend.

    If you are given more money than you asked for, depending on whether it was a computer error or person error dictates what your legal rights and responsibilities are.

    If it is the ATM that disperses a different amount of cash than what you asked for/had available in your account, this money remains the property of the bank. If you take it and keep it, it is called a taking and stealing and theft accusations aren't far behind for the reason,it was a computer error unable to be overturned by a real person.

    If however, you did the transaction over the counter with the trusty bank teller, if she gives you too much money, at law this is considered a giving capable of being checked by a human as such, unless you're worried about ethics or karma, that money is yours to spend!

    • MS Paint on 19/02/2025 - 00:22
      +3

      Does your detector go off continuously?

      • DashCam AKA Rolts on 19/02/2025 - 10:11

        I got that reference.
        All of those weird notes O.P. finds in the mornings, strange.

      • Muppet Detector on 22/02/2025 - 20:44
        +1

        Only when you're around.

      • Muppet Detector on 22/02/2025 - 21:22

        You know something? I originally just ignored this comment because it just showed how shallow and uneducated you are.

        I have never directed a mean comment towards you and have always taken you at face value, treated you with respect and responded to your contributions in good faith.

        Does it make you feel like a big brave chest beating Neanderthal now that you have tried to belittle me so you can exert your manhood and feel especially good about yourself over a fairly lame reference to my user name?

        Be better. Don't make your mama cry in her wheatiea and wonder how she went so wrong with yourself.

        • MS Paint on 22/02/2025 - 21:27
          +2

          Was all in good fun. Sorry you're offended. Take everything I say as a lighthearted grain of salt.

    • Cluster on 19/02/2025 - 14:55
      +1

      That's not how it works. If you ordered $500 from a bank but received $5000, an error has been made. 'Finders keepers' is a rule for small children. Legally you are obligated to return the money. If you take the money and spend it, and should be reasonably aware that you got it in error, you can be up on criminal charges.

      Real life example:
      https://www.vice.com/en/article/this-australian-bartender-da…

      Man finds he can withdraw unlimited funds from a NAB atm. Did he get to keep the money without consequences? Have a guess…

      • Muppet Detector on 22/02/2025 - 20:42

        It comes under stealing

      • Muppet Detector on 22/02/2025 - 20:47

        I don't think you read what I wrote. I specifically said that an overpayment made by an ATM is considered to be a taking so you are required by law to return it.

        If however, a human overpays you, at law this is a giving, and is yours to keep.

        Covered by the stealing laws.

        • Muppet Detector on 22/02/2025 - 21:39

          Furthermore,

          There is an awful lot about which I know nothing. I am the first to acknowledge this and it causes me no shame but does show me things I may like to learn in the future.

          Similarly, there are a fair few things I know some things about and will happily own up to those things where knowledge may be negligible as opposed to being somewhat overarching.

          Finally, there are quite a few things about which I definitely have an in-depth knowledge about supported by relevant qualifications, experience, professional recognition and research. Of these things I am absolutely sure and encourage you to make sure you know what you are responding to and at least try to find correct information if you try to contradict and/or correct me.

          My above comments were how the law treats takings and giving.

          A seperate topic is theft by finding. The person who is in possession of a thing has more rights to that thing than any other person other than the true owner.

          If you find something, you are supposed to take reasonable steps to identify the true owner. The value/type of the item is a fair indicator of how much trouble you should go to.

          Sometimes however, a good found in a public place such as the customer area of a shop, the lounge area of an airport etc, true ownership may not be so obvious and it may well be the finder who retains township of that item.

          Case law going back
          Hundreds of years explaining all this and providing relative examples.

  • altomic on 19/02/2025 - 08:45

    Cash is king

    • soan papdi on 19/02/2025 - 10:30

      Kings and queens are just figureheads these days. Maybe it should change to "Cash is Prime Minister"

      • altomic on 19/02/2025 - 13:16
        +2

        I am part korean - Cash is Grand Supreme Leader

    • changyang1230 on 19/02/2025 - 15:21

      When people say "cash is king", it's more about liquid, easily transacted money rather than the physical entity.

    • eek on 19/02/2025 - 17:56

      king for dodging the tax man

  • bbinc on 19/02/2025 - 09:58

    I wonder about AI. Could it get smart enough to do what OP fears? Sure it might need a bad actor to give it initial access (say, to the US Social Security system, as IS happening right now) and learn how to access all those accounts it now has the details for.
    For the moment this is just a brain fart for me, but …

  • 7ekn00 on 19/02/2025 - 10:45

    They don't "hack" accounts (too time consuming), they either try darkweb leaked passwords or social engineer you to give them access …

    "Hi Mr Detector, I am Sam from your bank doing an audit of all customer passwords, please spell your password to me to see if it is strong enough for this purpose"

    "Ok, Sam, my password is password123"

    Or, there is a password from myspace.com that you used as a banking password with the same email address, etc

    • tenpercent on 19/02/2025 - 12:03

      Or social engineer someone inside an organisation with access.
      Or film your phone as you type in the password.
      Or scan your retina as you get happy slapped by some random kid in public.

  • mrkorrupt on 19/02/2025 - 12:05
    +1

    isnt the barrier for entry into physical theft (eg. knife / gun point) lower than the barrier for digital crime

  • Cluster on 19/02/2025 - 14:50

    Digital money at a proper bank is safer than cash. Think about stashing thousands of dollars at home, and the security risk. A thief or another family member may take it.

    Don't worry about uber hackers accessing your account. People lose money because they get an email or phone call with a wild and unbelievable story with instructions on how you should send the money to the scammer.

    Now, if you choose to store crypto currency on your computer or an exchange, then all bets are off. Hackers will try to get to it, and there is no recourse if you lose the crypto.

  • n3ck3ntry8bort0rgasm on 19/02/2025 - 20:22

    can you trade me 40 JPEG's for 5 of rock? 😂

  • wannagrababargain on 20/02/2025 - 08:54

    And how much of you cash stashed around 'strategic places' gets forgotten about, left with the house after selling, lost, eaten by worms, accidentally binned with hard rubbish, burned in a fire. There's safety risks with both physical and digital representations.

    • KangaDrew on 25/02/2025 - 17:14

      Brand new user.
      Sockpuppeting.
      Reported.
      Buh-bye.

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