Fidelity Investments: Secure And Reliable?

Fidelity Investments is committed to safeguarding its customers' accounts and personal information. The company employs a range of security measures, including strong encryption, firewalls, secure email, and 24/7 system surveillance. Additionally, Fidelity offers multi-factor authentication and security alerts to protect its customers' identities and accounts. The company also participates in asset protection programs such as FDIC and SIPC and offers a Customer Protection Guarantee, reimbursing customers for losses from unauthorized account activity. With a dedicated team of cybersecurity professionals and a comprehensive approach to security, Fidelity ensures the protection of its customers' data and assets.

Multi-factor authentication

Here's how it works: when you log in to your account, you will first enter your ID and password as usual. Then, instead of immediate access, you will be asked to verify your identity in another way. This could be by entering a security code sent to you via text or email, using an authenticator app, or receiving a push notification on your device. This second step ensures that even if someone has your login information, they cannot access your account without also having access to your phone or email.

Fidelity also offers a free 2-factor authentication app called VIP Access by Symantec, which generates a random 6-digit code on your device each time you log in. This code is then entered after your initial login and is valid for 30 seconds.

Money transfer lockdown

Fidelity offers a money transfer lockdown feature that allows you to instantly lock your accounts and block electronic money movement. This prevents any unauthorized transfers from your accounts and helps protect your balances.

To enable this feature, visit your security settings and follow the necessary steps. This is just one of the many security measures that Fidelity offers to protect your accounts and personal information.

Fidelity takes the security and privacy of its customers seriously and employs world-class measures, such as multi-factor authentication, strong encryption, firewalls, and proactive 24/7 system surveillance, to safeguard your portfolio and financial transactions.

Additionally, Fidelity provides a Customer Protection Guarantee, where they reimburse customers for any financial losses resulting from unauthorized activity on their accounts. This guarantee reinforces their commitment to providing peace of mind and ensuring the trust of their customers.

To further enhance security, Fidelity recommends that customers use unique and strong passwords for their accounts and enable multi-factor authentication for an extra layer of protection. By taking advantage of the available security features, customers can rest assured that their money and personal information are secure.

Security text alerts

Fidelity Investments is committed to safeguarding your accounts and personal information. They employ a range of security measures, including strong encryption, firewalls, secure email, and proactive 24/7 system surveillance.

One of the key tools they offer to help protect your account is security text alerts. These alerts are designed to keep you informed about any activity on your account, helping to protect you from fraud and identity theft.

Here's how it works:

• Signing Up: By providing your phone number and agreeing to receive text messages, you can sign up for Fidelity Investments security text alerts. These alerts are associated with certain transactions related to your account, such as wire transfers or updates to your profile.
• Customisation: You can customise the types of alerts you receive. For example, you can choose to be notified when a travel notification is added or when changes are made to your ID, password, address, email, or phone number. You can also set a dollar amount threshold to trigger transaction alerts.
• Frequency: The frequency of alerts depends on your level of account activity.
• Opting Out: You can opt out of text alerts at any time by texting "STOP" to the relevant number. However, opting out is not recommended, as these alerts provide an additional layer of security.
• Cost: Standard message and data rates or other fees from your mobile provider may apply.
• Privacy: All contact information is managed according to Fidelity's privacy policy.

In addition to security text alerts, Fidelity also offers other security measures such as multi-factor authentication and voice biometrics to protect your identity and accounts. They also provide resources to help you protect your personal information and financial transactions, including recommendations to use strong, unique passwords and to monitor your accounts regularly.

Voice biometrics

Fidelity Investments uses voice biometrics to verify the identity of its clients. This technology is called Fidelity MyVoice®. When a client calls Fidelity, they no longer need to enter PINs or passwords. Instead, MyVoice® will detect and verify the caller's voiceprint—a combination of their physical and behavioural voice patterns—in the first few moments of the call. This voiceprint is as unique as a fingerprint.

MyVoice® works through natural conversation. When a client calls 1-800-Fidelity and says "account access", they will be prompted to speak with a representative and enrol in the program. The representative will have a brief conversation with the client to enrol them in MyVoice® and create their unique voiceprint. This voiceprint is then used to verify the client's identity in future calls.

MyVoice® is designed to work even if the client has a cold, allergies, or a sore throat, or is calling from a different phone device. In the case of extreme changes to the client's voice, Fidelity will verify their identity by asking security questions. If there is excessive background noise that interferes with the verification, other secure methods will be used to confirm the client's identity.

Fidelity assures its clients that their voiceprints are secure. MyVoice® uses an encrypted digital representation of the client's voice, not an actual recording, which works exclusively with the Fidelity system. This digital representation cannot be duplicated or used elsewhere. Voiceprint verification is a form of biometric authentication that provides a very strong level of security.

Customer Protection Guarantee

Fidelity is proud of the trust its customers place in it and wants to ensure that customers have peace of mind when doing business with them. This is why they offer the Customer Protection Guarantee.

Fidelity will reimburse you for any losses from unauthorized activity in your Covered Accounts occurring through no fault of your own. Covered Accounts include your Fidelity brokerage accounts, your Fidelity Crypto accounts, and your Fidelity retirement plan accounts (e.g., 401(k), 403(b), 457, or profit-sharing plans).

To be eligible for coverage under the Customer Protection Guarantee, you must frequently check your account information and promptly review correspondence, account statements, confirmations, and alerts as they are made available to you, but no later than 30 days after that information is posted to your account or delivered to you. You must immediately contact and report to Fidelity if you suspect any unauthorized account activity, errors, or discrepancies, if you lose the device you normally use to contact them, or if you have not received your account statements. You must also maintain up-to-date contact information so that you can receive timely account communications and ensure that Fidelity can contact you in case of suspected unauthorized activity.

Fidelity will not cover taxes, legal fees, lost opportunity costs, consequential/nonmonetary damages, or other amounts that have been or are eligible to be reimbursed, for example, by a depository bank, outside investment provider, or through insurance. The Customer Protection Guarantee also does not cover accounts held outside of Fidelity or assets that are not held in a Covered Account, including certain annuities and insurance products, Fidelity Advisor Fund accounts, and Fidelity Advisor 529 accounts.

Frequently asked questions