We never ask for your PIN or password
Not to verify you, not to cancel a transaction, not for any reason at all.
Security center
How to tell it is really us
HBI will never ask for your password or one-time passcode. If someone does, it is not us.
If you think you have been defrauded, call 1-800-555-0160 nowThe line is answered at any hour. Freeze your card in the app first if you can.
The rules
Four things that are always true
Scams change constantly. These four do not, so they are the most useful test you have.
We never ask you to move money
No HBI employee will ask you to transfer funds to a "safe account". That account belongs to the fraudster.
We never send a link to sign in
Type the address yourself or use the app. Links in messages are the most common way accounts are taken over.
We never rush you
Urgency is the tool. If someone is pressing you to act before you can check, that is the tell.
How we protect you
What happens behind the screen
Every payment is scored in real time against how you normally bank. When something looks out of pattern we hold it and contact you through the app, never by asking for your credentials.
Your sign-in is bound to devices you have approved. A password alone, typed on a device we have not seen, will not open your account.
- One-time PIN on every new device
- Card details tokenized in digital wallets
- Beneficiary names verified before a first payment
Common approaches
What the current scams look like
Someone calls claiming a fraudulent transaction is in progress and offers to stop it if you confirm your one-time passcode or move money. Hang up and call 1-800-555-0160 yourself, from the number on your card.
A fraudster ports your number so they receive your one-time passcodes. If your phone loses signal unexpectedly and stays dead, use another phone to call us immediately.
An email or text that looks like us, with a link to a page that looks like our sign-in. Check the address bar, never the design. We never link to sign-in from a message.
A vendor emails new banking details. Call the vendor on a number you already had and confirm verbally before you pay.
Check the card slot for anything loose, cover the keypad, and never accept help from a stranger at a machine. If the card is retained, call us before you leave.
A relationship or opportunity that moves to requests for money, often with pressure to keep it private. Legitimate investments never require secrecy and never guarantee a return.
What you can do
Controls worth turning on today
Each one is free, takes under a minute, and is in the app under Cards or Profile.
Turn off international use
Leave it off until you travel. Much card fraud is attempted from abroad.
Keep overdraft declines on
Without an overdraft line, the account declines a payment rather than going below zero.
Lower your daily payment limit
Set it to what you actually use. Lowering is immediate; raising needs a one-time passcode.
Turn on all notifications
An alert on every authorization attempt is the fastest way to catch a problem.
Use the app, not links
Biometric sign-in with device-bound credentials is safer than a password typed into a browser.
Review trusted devices
Remove any device you no longer use. A removed device cannot sign in even with your password.
Report it
Something does not feel right?
Call the fraud line on 1-800-555-0160, any hour.