Is It Safe To Share Bank Statements & What’s the Safest Way To Do It?

Bank statements are documents your bank produces for you to see records of your income and expenses. They may also contain records of how much you borrowed from the bank, as well as how much more you can borrow. As you can see, it is a very private document, as bank statements show your financial condition. But there may be times when you have to share your bank statement. In these situations, it is common to ask: "Is it safe to share bank statements?"

In this article, we will share information as to whether or not it is safe to share your bank statements. We'll also inform you about the best practices, like using tools that protect your data privacy like Wondershare PDFelement.

Part 1. Is It Safe To Share Bank Statements?

Is it safe to send bank statements via email? It depends on many things. Who are you sending the bank statement to? What is the purpose; why do you need to share your bank statement?

Sharing bank statements is necessary in some situations. For example, you would need to do it when applying for a loan or a mortgage. You should do it with caution due to privacy and security concerns. You should consider the following:

Personal Information

Your bank statement contains sensitive information like your full name, account number, balances, and more. Sharing this information increases the risk of identity theft or fraud.

Confidentiality

For the reason stated above, you must be selective of the medium you use to share your document. Do not share your bank statements through channels and websites that are not secure. No one should be able to access your bank statement besides you and the recipient.

Background Check

Ensure you are dealing with trustworthy entities. Also, verify the legitimacy of the purpose of the request. Furthermore, be cautious of scams or phishing attempts where fraudsters pose as legitimate entities to obtain sensitive information.

Redaction

Depending on the purpose, some of the information in your bank statement will not be needed. If possible, redact or mask these details before sharing your bank statement. This can help protect your privacy while still providing the necessary information.

Encryption

If possible, password-protect your bank statement. The password should be kept a secret between you and your recipient. This ensures that only you and your authorized recipient can open the file. Anyone who will download it or try to open it without permission will not be able to view its contents.

Legal Protections

Being knowledgeable about the subject will protect your data. You will not fall for scams and will not land in legal trouble. That said, we recommend familiarizing yourself with relevant privacy laws and regulations governing the sharing of financial information.

Keep these things in mind so you can identify whether or not it is safe to share your bank statement when someone asks you to.

Part 2. How To Send Bank Statements via Email? Use PDF Tools like Wondershare PDFelement!

Bank statements are usually in PDF format. That is fantastic, as Wondershare PDFelement offers a secure way of sharing files through email. The company values your security and promises not to distribute your files without your authorization. Furthermore, Wondershare PDFelement offers robust security features that will give you peace of mind.

Part 2.1. How To Send Bank Statements in PDF Through Wondershare PDFelement

Wondershare PDFelement has a Share feature that makes it very easy to send your documents to someone. It is easy to use and is very secure. Simply follow this step-by-step guide:

1. Download your bank statement from the bank's website.
2. Launch Wondershare PDFelement. Click Open PDF > Select your bank statement. If the bank statement is not in PDF form, click + > From File instead. Wondershare PDFelement will turn it into a PDF and will open it.

3. Click the Share button on the ribbon.

4. Select Email. Choose between Email Client and Outlook, compose your email, and send it to your recipient.

Part 2.2. How To Send Printed Bank Statements in PDF Through Wondershare PDFelement

What if the bank statement has been printed? It is on paper. How do you send it through email? Do not take a picture and attach it to your email. Unlike PDFs, images of documents do not look professional and do not offer peace of mind through security features.

Wondershare PDFelement has a scanner feature. It lets you convert printed documents into PDFs. The tool also offers a Deskew tool. With just one click of a button, you can straighten your bank statements, ensuring they look professional.

Follow these steps to send your printed bank statements via email using Wondershare PDFelement.

1. Set up your scanner to scan your printed bank statement.
2. In Wondershare PDFelement, click + > From Scanner.

3. Select your scanner. Click Deskew PDF after scanning to ensure the document is not tilted.

4. Optionally, to make the bank statement editable, click Recognize text (OCR).

5. Click Scan.

6. Open the scanned file using Wondershare PDFelement.

7. Click Share > Select between Email Client / Email > compose your email and send it.

Part 2.3. How To Send Bank Statements on Mobile

Smartphones are getting more and more powerful. They can now perform tasks that can only be done on computers before. As such, people have been using their phones now. You can use it for work or for other transactions.

Maybe you downloaded your bank statement using your mobile phone. No need to move your file from your phone to your computer. Wondershare PDFelement is available on iOS.

Here is how to use the PDFelement iOS app to share your bank statement:

1. Install and launch the Wondershare PDFelement iOS.
2. Tap and open your bank statement PDF.
3. Tap the three dots button (...) on the top right corner.
4. Select Share.

5. Compose the email and hit Send.

Bonus Part: Redact Information Before Sharing Your Bank Statement via Email

Identify what information from your bank statement is needed. Ask your recipient about it. Before sending your bank statement via email, redact sensitive information that is not needed. This will help protect your data.

Wondershare PDFelement also allow you to easily do that. It has a Redact feature that lets you block sections of the PDF. Here is how you do it:

1. Open your bank statement on Wondershare PDFelement.
2. Click Protect > Mark for Redaction. Select the information on the bank statement that you want to redact.

3. Alternatively, if the word or information appeared several times in the PDF, click Search & Redact. Type the information on the left pane > click Apply All Marks.

4. Click Apply Redaction. A prompt will appear. Click Continue.

5. Save your document before sending it through the Share feature.

Conclusion

It is safe to share your bank statement when the recipient is a trustworthy one. Those are legitimate financial institutions, government agencies, and people you know and trust. Also, scrutinize the purpose of the request. There are only a few valid reasons for requesting your bank statements, like loan applications, tax filings, or employment verification. If the reason for the request is not there, be wary.

You should also be selective of the channels you are using to share your bank statements. They should offer secured document sharing, like Wondershare PDFelement. In fact, it is the best tool as it is available on Mac, Windows, and mobile. Wondershare PDFelement offers a secure channel to share your PDFs. On top of that, it offers security features like Redaction and Password encryption.