How secure is Mint?

[Exflyboy]

Hi all,

I was about to start pulling all my info into MINT.com and I stopped with the feeling of.. Holy cow I would need to type ALL my account numbers and passwords into a single online website.

It sure feels lie a risky thing to do.. What if their site got hacked and they drained your accounts?

Any thoughts?

[Uturn]

I use Personal Capital, but I imagine Mint would work the same. 

They have an API that is read only.  Your password is stored as a salted hash.  The API won't accept actual password, only the hash.  The hash cannot be used on the read/write front end of the actual financial site.  PC/Mint requires two factor authentication.

I'm not saying it's hack proof, because no one is.

[Frankies Girl]

I am really, really paranoid and have even been the victim of identity theft. I do use Mint tho, because it's the same people I do my taxes with (Intuit, which owns Turbo Tax). I figure it's probably as safe as they can make it, and as long as you're monitoring more frequently anyway through Mint, you'll catch anything before it does any damage in the unlikely event someone does hack an account.

[Fuman]

Also a Mint user - and also a bit worried about a hack.  I have heard from several sources that it is as hack-proof (or nearly so) as is possible to engineer. 

However, as Frankie's Girl states, if you monitor frequently you'll be on top of all of your accounts.  Mint is so fast and easy I often check my accounts twice a day.  I wouldn't go back to my pre-Mint days.

[enigmaT120]

So far they've done better than the federal Office of Personnel Management, who let hackers get all of my private data.  I had to tell my mother to change her maiden name!

[Argyle]

What worries me is that if there were a security breach, the banks are not obligated to give your money back.  Because you gave Mint your username and password.  People say, "Well, if there were a big security breach, the banks would be pressured to replace your money."  Well, maybe.  But what if not?

[turketron]

One of the features of my primary bank (Capital One 360, formerly ING Direct) offers is a read-only Access Code that is specifically intended to be used with sites like Mint. Instead of giving your regular login and password, you give Mint the Access Code instead, which only allows Mint to download transaction data. Even if someone were to hack your Mint account, they'd only have access to view your purchase history. Plus, it's really easy to revoke an Access Code and generate a new one in the event of a breach.

I'm not sure what other banks include this feature, but I've received a few surveys for my other institutions asking me how I felt about their security features and I was sure to mention this as something they should offer.

[Exflyboy]

Yes I had already made an account and loaded all my info into it.

Was great to see all my assets in one place.. then I had doubts.. so closed the mint account and changed all my passwords.

I had the same thought as Argyle.. if there was a hack and you had gave up your info voluntarily.. what then?

I might go back and change all my account names as well.

[RyanAtTanagra]

Security concerns are the reason I don't use Mint either.  If all my bank accounts had an option for a read-only password, I would, but unfortunately few do.  Not a lot of incentive for them to build that out.  Mint is too big of a single point of (financial) failure to me, no matter how secure they say it is (all companies think/say they're secure, till someone decides to prove otherwise).

I also use 2-factor auth on all important financial accounts, which everyone should be doing when they can, but that makes it even harder to play nice w/ Mint.

[YK-Phil]

Don't worry, it is as safe as Ashley Madison ;)

[SMCx3]

I am very pleased with Mint. 

[AZDude]

Most banks use two-step authentication, so just having the account number, username, and password would not let them get into your account. The good news is that companies like this have lots to lose if there is a hack, where the OPM only had national security at risk...

[frugaliknowit]

What worries me is that if there were a security breach, the banks are not obligated to give your money back.  Because you gave Mint your username and password.  People say, "Well, if there were a big security breach, the banks would be pressured to replace your money."  Well, maybe.  But what if not?

Agree completely.  I do a balance sheet monthly on excel.  Does the trick for me...and a LOT SAFER!!