These free bank alerts could save you hundreds in fees and fraud losses — but most Americans never turn them on

In many cases, these losses could have been prevented with simple, free alerts that banks already offer — and that Americans simply aren’t using.

“While many banks offer tools designed to help customers prevent fraud, consumers don’t always take full advantage of them,” Ethan Gustav, group president at Infobip, a global cloud communications channel, told Moneywise. “This is often because they’re either unaware that these features exist or find security settings difficult to find and implement.”

You don’t have to leave yourself vulnerable to bank fraud, though. Instead, just turn on these free alerts to protect yourself and keep your money where it belongs.

8 bank alerts you should turn on today

Banks now offer a long list of alerts you can turn on. Many of the notifications empower you to avoid both identity fraud and mistakes on your end, like overdrafting your account. They do this by providing real-time insight when something has potentially gone wrong.

“Consumers can take steps to protect their accounts by utilizing the free security alerts offered by their banks,” Gustav explained. Alerts recommended by Gustav and other experts, including Joel Castaneda, chief risk officer at Vantage Bank, include the following:

1. Transaction alerts: You can set up these alerts to notify you any time a purchase or ATM withdrawal is made, or only if there are specific triggers like a transaction above a certain amount. Castaneda recommends setting the alert at a “threshold where the user isn’t bombarded by alerts, but gets timely and critical notifications of potential account fraud.”
2. Login notifications: Gustav recommended setting an alert when a login attempt is made from an unfamiliar device. If you aren’t the one who tried to log in, this is a clear warning sign someone is trying to access your account without authorization.
3. Profile changes: Signing up to get notified if your password or other profile information is changed can help you stop a takeover of your account by a bad actor.
4. Unusual activity alerts: Banks routinely monitor your account for unusual activity, such as a sudden large withdrawal that’s out of character. Sign up to get alerted as soon as the bank notices something suspicious.
5. Upcoming scheduled payment: If you have bills paid out of your bank account, forgetting about them could leave you at risk of an overdraft. Sign up to get alerted when a payment will clear soon so you have a better idea of the money actually available in your bank account.
6. Low balance: A low balance alert can also help you avoid an overdraft by giving you a heads up that it’s time to stop taking money out and potentially transfer more money in.
7. Overdraft transfer: Many banks offer overdraft protection, which can involve transferring money automatically from a different account when your balance drops below $0. You’ll likely want to be notified when this happens so you can stop spending, or respond to fraud if someone else cleared your account.
8. Peer-to-peer payment alert: Tools like Zelle that provide instant transfers can be convenient, but can also create a big fraud risk. Sign up to be notified if a peer-to-peer money transfer system is used to move money so you can make sure the transfer is legit.

“These alerts provide an important first line of defense by allowing customers to quickly identify and report suspicious activity before it leads to significant financial loss,” Gustav said.

Get help from your bank to keep your account safe and secure

These are just some of the many security measures you could take advantage of. Unfortunately, many people don’t know about them, or about other tools that give them more control and an early warning of potential problems.

“From my experience, most people are not taking full advantage of their bank’s security measures,” Castaneda told Moneywise. “Generally, these measures aren’t well marketed by banks, but have improved significantly over time.”

Castaneda recommends being proactive in finding out exactly what tools are available to you. “If you bank at a community bank, which I highly recommend, pick up the phone and call your banker. That’s your best resource,” he advised.