An increasing percentage of smartphone owners are using their devices for financial transactions — to pay bills, check account balances, deposit checks and make purchases, according to the Federal Reserve Board’s “Consumers and Mobile Financial Services 2015″ survey.

But mobile safety is still a big concern for many. The Federal Reserve Board found that more than half of consumers who don’t use mobile banking or mobile payments avoid making transactions with their phones because they’re worried about the technology’s security.

It’s true that you can put your finances and personal information at risk when you use a smartphone. If you’re not careful, your accounts could be accessed, your credit card number could fall into the wrong hands or your identity could be stolen. It’s not a lack of mobile security, though, that’s creating these risks.

“The general public is painfully unaware of their security,” said Robert Siciliano, an identity theft expert with BestIDTheftCompanys.com. “They’re aware of the issues but not aware of what to do.” It’s when smartphone users don’t take the proper steps to safeguard their devices and financial transactions that they lose money or are exploited, he said.

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